WEEK IN REVIEW: Metal markets march on

Metal markets consolidated their recent trends in the first week of March, against the background of stronger global trade sentiment for 2017.

Next week the metals industry and trade will meet at Argus Metals Week in London to discuss how these trends will play out in the year ahead and the longer term. Nickel, lithium, tungsten, cobalt and other high temperature metals including chromium, tantalum and molybdenum lead the markets with most potential for growth this year, according to the industry survey carried out by Argus ahead of the event.

More than half of respondents see tightening supply of raw materials as an opportunity for increased business and prices this year. The acceleration in the development of electric vehicles is seen driving growth for battery metals such as cobalt and lithium, and for metals used in on-board electronics. But volatile commodity pricing and political instability are seen as major areas on concern. And in some markets growth is still threatened by overcapacity.

After lithium last year, this year cobalt has been the most talked about minor metal market, with investors building up stocks in anticipation of a battery demand spike. After rising by 60pc in the first two months of this year on investor-led buying, cobalt consolidated price gains in the first week of March, stopping short of $25/lb level. Antimony prices continued to rise on anticipated supply bottlenecks, but manganese fell to below a three-month low in Rotterdam this week amid subdued demand. This first week of March saw the start of what is likely to be a continued price rise in tungsten products, on the back of tight supply and rising cost of concentrates.

But some markets were also adjusting to the Chinese yuan’s fall to a two-month low against the US dollar in the run up to the party congress meeting in Beijing, set to address the country’s maturing economy. The US currency is buoyed by expectations of an interest rate rise, now …
Read More
Source: Metal Pages