1. Industrial metals range bound as investors gauge Omicron impact

Dec 24, 2021

Industrial metals were rangebound as investors awaited fresh clues on how the rapidly spreading Omicron coronavirus variant would affect global demand. The headlines this week have been dominated by news about Omicron, with health experts warning the battle against the variant was far from over despite two drugmakers saying their vaccines protected against it and signs it carries a lower risk of hospitalisation.

Source: Reuters

2. Copper market in 57,000 tonne deficit in Sept - ICSG

Dec 20, 2021

The global refined copper market swung into a 57,000 tonne deficit in September from a surplus of 56,000 tonnes in August, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said in its latest monthly bulletin. For the first nine months of the year, the market was in a 161,000 tonne deficit compared with a 239,000 tonne deficit in the same period a year earlier, the ICSG said. World refined copper output in September was 2.064 million tonnes, while consumption was 2.121 million tonnes.

Source: Reuters

3. Protesters agreed to lift a blockade of one of Peru’s biggest copper mines

Dec 22, 2021

The Chumbivilcas communities agreed to suspend their blockade of MMG Ltd.’s Las Bambas mine until a Dec. 30 meeting with Prime Minister Mirtha Vasquez. The Hantun Collana community was yet to decide whether to join the truce. Villages in the vicinity of the mine had threatened to seize their territory in the country’s copper-mining corridor as MMG’s offers of recompense in the form of money and trucking jobs had been insufficient to ease protests. The Las Bambas mine was fully shut down Saturday morning after weeks of blockade.

Source: Bloomberg

4. OPEC+ produces below target in November as compliance rises

Dec 20, 2021

OPEC+ compliance with oil production cuts rose to 117% in November from 116% a month earlier, two sources from the group told Reuters, indicating production levels remain well below agreed targets. Compliance from the 10 OPEC countries participating in the production cuts reached 122%, with participating non-OPEC countries achieving 107%, data seen by Reuters showed. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its December oil market report that OPEC+ missed its production targets by 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) last month, compared with 730,000 bpd in October.

Source: Reuters

5. China to roll out policies to help exporters amid economic headwinds

Dec 23, 2021

China will roll out more policies to help exporters and importers as foreign trade faces growing uncertainties. China's surprisingly resilient trade performance this year has provided a crucial buffer to the slowing economy, but analysts expect exports to come under great pressure in coming months as the COVID-19 pandemic eases. Demand for Chinese goods is expected to fall as global lockdowns ease and people spend more on services. Authorities will step up the support to the trade sector, including implementing previously flagged tax and fee cuts and speeding up the export tax rebates. The yuan exchange rate will be kept basically stable and banks are encouraged to conduct deals in the forward market to help exporters better cope with currency fluctuations risks.

Source: Reuters

6. ECB could raise rates as early as in about a year, Holzmann says

Dec 22, 2021

The European Central Bank could raise rates as soon as the end of next year and calling an end to bond purchases would be a strong signal that the move is coming in the next two quarters, Governing Council member Robert Holzmann said. The ECB last week took another step in rolling back crisis-era stimulus, saying it would end emergency bond purchases in March but temporarily double the pace of its longer-running Asset Purchase Programme (APP) to ease the transition.

Source: Reuters

7. China's economic growth will slow sharply in 2022: World Bank

Dec 23, 2021

China's economic growth has been given a bleak picture by World Bank's report as the world's second-largest economy faces mounting headwinds from the new Omicron variant to a severe property sector downturn. The World Bank has projected that China's economy will expand by 8 percent in 2021, a downward revision of the group's June forecast at 8.5 percent. The World Bank argued that Chinese authorities should stand ready to ease fiscal policy and provide liquidity to stem risks of contagion from distressed developers. China was the only major economy to record growth in 2020, but this year it has been dealing with a lot of threats to its expansion, including pandemic-related curbs, an energy crunch, and an unprecedented crackdown on private enterprises.

Source: Reuters