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Report On Base Metals  01/09

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Global demand

Base metals demand is boosted up and supported by the Chinese economy data, PMI index rising to 51.6, from 51.1. This morning the prices were up average 0.1%.

 

Nickel prices were upside than down finishing with the 0.8% gain. Following with tin price up about 0.3%, while aluminium lifts up for 0.2%.

Copper price came off 0.1%, leveling $6,812 per tonne. Lead and Zinc were off 0.2%.
Trade average Volume  is with 6,588 lots as of 07:13 BST.

The Following results are coming after Thursday. When base metals closed at average 1.2% up. Zinc yesterday rose for 2.4%. Nickel and Al were up 1.6%… Tin was little changed…

 

Precious metals

Prices saw a slight volatility, with gold prices at $1,320 per oz. The palladium prices are off 0.2% at $933.50 per oz.

“This came after a day of strength on Thursday when the complex closed up an average of 0.8%, helped by a reversal in intraday dollar strength on benign inflation data. “ (Fast Markets)

 

SHFE

In The SHFE trade this morning, base metals are up across the board with average gains of 0.9%.

Nickel prices rose for 1.8%. Copper prices are lagging behind with a 0.2% gain to 52,740 yuan ($8,013) per tonne, as other metals play catch-up with it.

Changjiang spot copper prices are little changed at 52,540-52,680 yuan per tonne. While the London/Shanghai copper arb ratio is weaker at 7.74 (7.77).

Steel rebar prices on the SHFE are up a whopping 6.1%, while gold and silver prices are up by 0.7% and 0.2% respectively.

Iron ore prices, for January delivery, are up 4.5% at 584 yuan per tonne on the Dalian Commodity Exchange.

 

International markets

 

In international markets, speaking about Oil prices.. Spot Brent crude oil prices are off 0.2% at $52.64 per barrel. The yield on US ten-year treasuries has eased to 2.13%. Due to the German ten-year bund yield, which has fallen to 0.36%.

Indexes

Equities in Asia are for the most part slightly firmer this morning – both the Nikkei and the ASX 200 are up 0.2%. The Hang Seng is up 0.1%, and the CSI 300 little changed, while the Kospi is off 0.2%. In the USA, the Dow Jones closed up 0.25% at 21,948.10 on Thursday.

Euro Stoxx 50 closed up 0.52% at 3,421.47.

Observing the dollar index, it spike up to 93.35 on Thursday, before closing at 92.61, it was recently quoted at 92.77 as it consolidates ahead of today’s US employment report. The report is likely to spark a reaction from traders as they adjust their view on likely Fed monetary policy. A good report could make the market think the Fed will turn more hawkish again. This could give the dollar a lift and that could weigh on metal prices.

Currencies are recent movements are: The euro at 1.1883 is correcting some of its recent gains, the yen at 110.17 is consolidating, as are sterling at 1.2915 and the Australian dollar at 0.7935.

In emerging market currencies, the yuan is stronger at 6.5809 – another sign of confidence in the economy and for the most part the other currencies we follow are flat-to-firm. Although the peso is slightly weaker.

Finishing,

Aluminium and nickel prices have now joined copper prices in pushing the envelope on the upside and zinc prices are close to following.  Furthermore, lead and tin prices are still lagging behind. Good data out of China and a weak dollar are supporting the firmer tones in the base metals. The recent rallies are looking quite stretched, although there have been bouts of consolidation along the way.

A huge part of metal movement depends on dollar. If it avoids rebounding, then the high price levels will likely scale up selling. Then the upside movement is about to grow.

Base Metals Market Review 31/08

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Top Things to know in market on Thursday

 

  • China plans safety inspections at coal mines
  • U.S. acts to finalize duties on imports of rebar from Taiwan
  • Zambia’s CEC to restore full power to Glencore’s Mopani Copper Mine
  • Brazil judge blocks decree opening Amazon area to mining
  • Vedanta Resources names ex-CEO Kaura as interim chief exec
  • South African iron ore, chrome producer Assore posts record profit due to higher prices

 

Base Metals 

This morning, Chinese PMI manufacturing data gave the results way better than expected. Those gave the support to the base metals market. It leveled at  51.7. Which is when compared with 51.4 previous and 51.3 expected, way better result.

 

Metal prices

The trade today was not so agitated, but as we observe the happenings.. The Zinc leads with 0.4% rise. Later comes copper with 0.3% rise. Pricing at $6,794 per tonne. Aluminium rose for 0.2%, while nickel was up for 0.1%.

Lead and Tin show the downwards movement, with lead lower for 0.3%, while tin is lower for 0.2%. The summary volume is average, with 6,267 lots.

Yesterday’s trade was generally weaker. It had the base metals complex close down by an average of 0.3%. It came after nickel price drop of 1%, and 0.8% fall in zinc prices.

Copper prices closed at $6,776 per tonne.

Tin had the gain of 1%, while aluminium prices changed a bit.

 

Precious metals

Generally, precious metal prices are lower, with gold, silver and platinum prices falling for 0.4% all. Gold spot price reached the price of $1,302.62. Palladium prices are 0.2% up, leveling $932.20.

Yesterday, the complex closed with 0.6% down.

SHFE

This morning in SHFE, Nickel and Zinc prices were off by 0.4% and 0.1%. Following, the tin and copper prices came at 52,800 yuan per tonne.

“Spot copper prices in Changjiang are up 0.2% at 52,250-52,700 yuan per tonne and the London/Shanghai copper arb ratio is weaker at 7.77. “

Steel rebar prices on the SHFE are up by 0.7%, gold and silver prices are off by 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively, while January 2018 iron ore prices on the Dalian Commodity Exchange have rebounded by 3.6% to 571.50 yuan per tonne.  (FastMarkets)

 

Currencies/Data/Indices

Finishing with international markets, the spot Brent crude oil prices are up 0.2%. They are now at $50.70 per barrel. And the yield on US ten-year treasuries is unchanged at 2.15%. German ten-year bund yield is firmer at 0.37%.

Observing equities this morning, gains are being seen on the Nikkei (0.72%). The ASX 200 (0.79%), while loses are being seen on the Hang Seng (-0.68%), the CSI 300 (-0.42%) and on the Kospi (-0.38%). In the USA. T

The Dow Jones closed up 0.12% at 21,892.43 on Wednesday, while in Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 closed up 0.46% at 3,403.71. (Indexes data from Fast Markets)

 

Base Metal Markets – August the 23rd

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Wednesday, the 23rd of august – Top 5 things to be aware of:

  1. Trump’s policy focusing on different fronts
  2. Worldwide manufacturing data shows resilience; U.S. in focus
  3. Mario Draghi avoids policy indication ahead of Jackson Hole
  4. Risk interested wavers standing in front of Central Bankers
  5. Oil prices trading lower

 

Volatility of Metals

Metal prices are following some very inspiring movement these days. The early morning trade on LME today went this way:  

We are speaking about morning trade:

This comes after yesterday’s split performance.

When lead led the gains with a 3.2% rally, nickel prices closed up 1% and copper closed up 0.2%. The rest were led lower by a 0.8% decline in tin prices. (Fast Markets data in numbers)

Speaking about precious metals, the prices are up across the board this morning by an average of 0.3%. Inspired by a 0.4% rise in silver prices, spot gold prices are up 0.2% at $1,285.86 per oz. This follows a down day on Tuesday when the complex closed off 0.6% on average, led by a 1% fall in palladium prices. (FM)

 

SHFE today 

Observing the morning trade on the SHFE, the base metals complex is for the most part weaker with prices off an average of 0.4%. Led by a 1.7% drop in tin prices, aluminium and zinc prices are off 1.1% and copper prices are off by 0.1%. 

 

Pointing at 51,570 yuan ($7,739) per tonne. 

Bucking the trend are lead and nickel prices, up by 1.5% and 0.1%, respectively.

Other metals in China are showing some down movement. SHFE rebar prices are down 4.9% and iron ore prices on the Dalian Commodity exchange are down 3.7% at 580 yuan per tonne on the January 2018 contract. The gold and silver prices on SHFE are both down 0.4%.

 

International Markets

In international markets, spot Brent crude oil prices are up by 0.2% at $51.71 per barrel. The income on US ten-year treasuries is firmer at 2.21%, and the German ten-year bund yield is at 0.40%

 

Indexes 

In the end, observing the Indexes and their market movement:

Firstly, the Hang Seng Index is up (+0.9%), the Nikkei (+0.2%), the CSI 300 (0.1%). All of these are higher, while the ASX 200 is off 0.3% and the Kospi is off 0.1%. In the USA, the Dow Jones closed up 0.9% at 21,799.89 and in Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 closed up 0.94% at 3,455.59.

(Exact Numbers in the Article coming from the Fast Markets.)

 

One-fifth of Mongolia to be opened for digging

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Mining industry executives expect new mining boom in Mongolia. It is going to start very soon. It will open about 21% of country’s territory. Which is more than one-fifth, in order to explore its mining potential.

Mongolia goes through financial IMF-led bailout. And it currently removed the main obstacle of $5.5 million which was affecting its economy. It was a Mongolian banking law, that had required big companies to refer their sales revenues from foreign investments through Mongolian banks. Later it made a proposal to explore wider area of Mongolian territory.

 

Reforms

 

Reform, followed by further steps, all in order to open the mining sector, would definitely see the industry & investment grow.

“It is an important thing for Mongolia as a whole. I think the reaction and the commitment you are seeing from the Mongolian government over the last two weeks to repeal this tax, it shows its firm commitment to really get the foreign investments going and particularly that is very much settled on the mineral exploration and the mining industry in Mongolia.” Andrew Stewart, CEO of Xanadu Mines said.

By some CNBC reports, Stewart also spoke about Xanadu’s flagship Kharmagtai project. Its location is 120km south of Oyu Tolgoi. And it demonstrates that Mongolia offers increasingly favorable odds for discovering significant copper and gold deposits. When compared to mature mining jurisdictions, for example Canada & Australia.

IMF data shows that the economy only grew 1 percent in 2016 from 2.4 percent in 2015.

 

Numbers

By exploration, and Mongolian government efforts given in the mining potential, the country can meliorate its economy. Rise its GDP and of course the economic security which follows. Dashdorj was said to have remarked that the landlocked country bordering China and Russia and among the top 20 countries by landmass needs to take the step to resolve economic woes that go back several years.

Encouraging exploration is crucial for the healthy mining industry. When government gives the effort in structural changes in the industry there exists a great platform on which country can establish its capacities.

 

Mongolia’s growth in 2H17 and 2018

Mongolia’s growth will definitely accelerate this year. Supported by these huge mining investments. Info are coming from Asian Development Bank and its 2017 Outlook report. The forecast says growth will accelerate 2.5% this year, but will be around 2% in 2018. Followed by the base effect of upsurge in coal production in 2017.

This is based on the assumption that investment in the second phase of Oyu Tolgoi mine will rise from $200 million last year to $1 billion in 2017 and $1.2 billion in 2018.

While Oyu Tolgoi is Mongolia’s highest profile mining operation, the country plays host to a number of the copper, gold and coal mines.

Mongolia is a country richly provided with mineral resources.  The Erdenet Copper Mine has been operating for several decades and the indications are that there is still a number of decades of mine life to come.