Latest news with #SPAngel
Wall Street Journal
31-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Copper Prices Decline on Surprise U.S. Tariff Exemption
1407 GMT – Copper prices fall as the U.S. introduces a surprise exemption for refined metal in its copper products tariff. LME three-month copper is down 1.1% at $9,622.0 a metric ton. Prices on U.S. commodities exchange Comex plummeted more than 20% on the exemption news, which will have left some U.S.-based commodity trading funds long on physical metal, SP Angel analysts say in a note. Traders had spent months directing flows of copper into the U.S. in order to frontload the expected tariff. This significantly pushed up the U.S. premium for the metal but that is now rapidly unwinding, SP Angel says. There has been very little trading of copper within the U.S., so much of the loss from long position holders will likely be on import and storage costs, analysts add. ( 1149 GMT – Gold futures rise, recovering from losses in the prior session as the U.S. dollar marginally softens. Futures are up 0.2% at $3,358.10 a troy ounce. Gold prices are 2.8% lower on week, however, on a dollar rally following a raft of U.S. trade deals. A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated bullion more expensive for international purchasers and directly competes with gold's safe-haven characteristics. Still, gold is up significantly year-to-date, predominantly reflecting central bank purchases, SP Angel analysts say in a note. These purchases have been driven by foreign reserve diversification efforts in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions, the analysts write. This diversification into gold is likely to continue given monetary weaponization, persistent China-U.S. geopolitical tensions and mounting debt concerns in many Western countries, SP Angel adds. (
Forbes
30-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
China's Control Of Supply And Demand Gives Lithium A 20% Boosts
Chinese control of both the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and the supply of battery raw materials has sparked a surprise recovery in the price of lithium which has risen by 20% over the past three weeks. That higher price move looks less impressive when measured against the 87.5% price crash of the previous three years. Electric vehicle (EV) production line at the Leapmotor factory in Jinhua, China's eastern Zhejiang ... More province. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP) (Photo by ADEK BERRY/AFP via Getty Images) The lithium collapse, which started in late 2022, saw the price of the metal, when traded as lithium carbonate, plunge from $83,500 a ton to a low earlier this month of $8500/t before recovering to last sales at $10,300/t. What's driving lithium up is a combination of tighter Chinese Government controls over domestic production and a rapid rise in sales of EVs in China where the market is stronger than the U.S. and Europe. The EV demand factor was identified last week by the Australian office of Canadian investment bank CG Capital Markets as the primary cause of the recovery in a research note headed 'Lithium. Demand is in charge now'. Supply, according to the London stockbroking firm SP Angel, could be the more important factor with Government enforced production cutbacks said to be part of wider environmental clean-up and attempt to limit oversupply which caused the earlier crash. Political Bargaining Tool It is also possible that recent events in the lithium market are an example of China using its commodity market dominance to control prices and use supply as a political bargaining tool as it has done with another commodity, rare earths. SP Angel said a new focus was emerging in China to cut over-production and excess competition which was leading to the closure of some lithium mines. 'A crackdown across a number of commodities appears to be part of a new directive to limit oversupply and lift underlying prices,' SP Angel said. But the broker also suggested that China might be looking to control more commodities following the successful use of rare earths in tariff negotiations with the U.S. Loading lithium sulfate on the Atacama Salt Flat in Chile. (Photo by Lucas Aguayo Araos/Anadolu via ... More Getty Images) CG Capital Markets prefers stronger than expected EV demand as the primary cause of the lithium price rebound. 'Demand is much stronger than we previously expected with low pricing hollowing out future supply growth,' CG said. 'As demand growth overtakes supply growth, we see a much tighter market and potential for continued price improvement.' CG said that while EV sales were flat in North America global sales were growing at a rate of 30% year-on-year. EV sales in China are up 32% reaching 14.6 million vehicles. European EV sales have risen by 26% and the rest-of-the-world has grown by 41%. 'This is being driven by user acceptance, more product choices, and lower costs,' CG said. Energy storage is also emerging as a fast-growing market for lithium carbonate. CG said the low point in the lithium price cycle had been reached with demand growth expected to outstrip supply growth.
Wall Street Journal
21-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Gold Futures Rally on U.S. Dollar Weakness, Rate Cut Hopes
1530 GMT – Gold futures rise on a softer U.S. dollar and positive recent U.S. economic data. Futures are up 1.6% at $3,413.30 a troy ounce, its highest level since mid-June. The precious metal had retreated in the prior week on temporary dollar strength, but positive U.S. core inflation prints have kept market sentiment towards the precious metal cautiously bullish, Russell Shor says in a note. Positive inflation data increases market optimism for interest rate cuts, a boon for non-interest bearing bullion. Gold's outlook for the second half of the year looks set to be driven by the Fed's pace of rate cuts and any escalations in trade or geopolitical tensions, Shor writes. If inflation proves sticky and cuts stay elusive, gold could stall, but renewed volatility or a dovish Fed pivot could see gold soar, he adds. ( 1221 GMT – Gold futures rise on U.S. dollar weakness and exchange traded fund interest. Futures are up 0.75% at $3,383.40 a troy ounce. The precious metal has gained on a slide in the U.S. dollar, making gold's competing safe-haven characteristics more attractive and cheaper for international buyers to purchase. The dollar appears to be slipping on the prospect of U.S. interest rate cuts and lower tariffs, SP Angel analysts say in a note. Renewed expectations for higher inflation are also a driver for non-inflationary bullion's gains, despite their potential to delay interest rate cuts, SP Angel says. Gold speculative positions from funds have risen in recent weeks, and investors are seeing the benefits of putting savings in gold ETFs amid macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, analysts add. (
Business Recorder
19-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Copper hits near one-week low on stronger dollar, growth fears
Copper prices touched a near one-week low on Thursday and other base metals also slipped, dragged down by a strong dollar and mounting global growth fears amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. The LME's three-month copper was down 0.5% at $9,609 per metric ton in official open-outcry trading. Prices hit their lowest level since June 13. 'A stronger U.S. dollar on higher on geopolitical concerns tends to weaken U.S. dollar-based prices. Long-only funds are sitting on the sidelines due to elevated risk concerns,' said SP Angel analyst John Meyer. The pullback also reflects reduced activity as U.S. traders are away for the Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, he added. The dollar firmed, buoyed by rising Middle East tensions and as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's cautionary tone on inflation, and oil prices jumped. Israel struck a key Iranian nuclear site and Iranian missiles hit an Israeli hospital, as U.S. President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the U.S. would join Israel in air strikes seeking to destroy Tehran's nuclear facilities. Copper eases on growth concerns, firmer dollar War, elevated oil prices and inflation tend to disrupt supply chains, increase costs, and dampen investment, slowing global growth. LME copper inventories dropped by 4,025 tons to 103,325 tons, data for Wednesday showed. This marked the weakest level in more than a year. In recent months, copper has been flowing to the United States, where it attracts a premium due to expectations Trump will impose tariffs on the metal. LME aluminium fell 0.8% to $2,526. Meanwhile, premiums for consumers buying aluminium on the physical market in the United States fell more than 7% on Wednesday as traders speculated that U.S. import tariffs on shipments from Canada could be cut, metal industry sources said. LME tin lost 0.5% to $32,200, zinc shed 0.3% to $2,630, lead inched 0.4% lower to $1,986, while nickel was down 0.1% at $15,035. The International Lead and Zinc Study Group on Wednesday said the global zinc market surplus narrowed in April while the lead market swung to surplus.
Business Recorder
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Copper dips as tariff uncertainty counters weaker dollar
LONDON: Copper prices inched lower on Tuesday as worries about growth and demand due to US tariffs dominated sentiment, overshadowing support from a weaker dollar and stimulus efforts from top consumer China. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.1% at $9,519 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading. Last week's trade truce between Beijing and Washington offered temporary relief to the market, but uncertainty looms over what will follow after the 90-day pause. Focus is also on an ongoing investigation into possible new tariffs on US copper imports, aimed at rebuilding domestic production of the metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware and semiconductors. 'Investors are concerned at the potential volatility from the... investigation into copper,' said SP Angel analyst John Meyer. The probe has resulted in a price premium for COMEX copper futures against LME contracts, which traders have capitalised on by redirecting copper supplies from other markets to the United States. Inventories in COMEX-registered warehouses have surged 77% since the end of March. Meanwhile, the US dollar remained subdued, supporting prices. A weaker dollar makes metals more affordable to other currency holders. 'The weaker US dollar may be encouraging some small-scale restocking of commodities,' said Meyer. Elsewhere, China cut benchmark lending rates for the first time since October, and major state banks lowered deposit rates to aid the economy as trade war simmers. However, the sizes of the rate reductions were mild, reflecting a gradual approach to monetary easing. Among other metals, aluminium rose 0.4% to $2,459.5 a ton, zinc was up 0.8% at $2,697, lead gained 1.1% to $1,983, tin firmed 0.2% to $32,950 while nickel edged down 0.2% to $15,525.
