1. Copper market in 19,000 tonnes deficit in Mar 2021 – ICSG

Jun 21, 2021

The global world refined copper market showed a 19,000 tonnes deficit in March, compared with a 108,000 tonnes surplus in February, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said in its latest monthly bulletin. For the first 3 months of the year, the market was in a 129,000 tonnes surplus compared with a 154,000 tonnes surplus in the same period a year earlier, the ICSG said. World refined copper output in March was 2.10 million tonnes , while consumption was 2.12 million tonnes.

Source: Reuters

2. China to auction copper, aluminium and zinc from state metal reserves

Jun 23, 2021

China’s state reserves administration on Tuesday said it would publicly auction a total of 100,000 tonnes of non-ferrous metals early next month in the first round of a rare and highly anticipated release of its stockpiles. The National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration said in three separate notices it would auction 20,000 tonnes of copper, 30,000 tonnes of zinc and 50,000 tonnes of aluminium on July 5 and July 6. The amount of zinc being sold is equivalent to 5.7 per cent of monthly production in China, the world’s biggest metals consumer, based on official data for May. For copper, the auctioned volume is 2.3 per cent of May’s refined output and for aluminium it is 1.5 per cent.

Source: Reuters

3. Crude oil inventories in America’s largest storage hub are falling fast

Jun 24, 2021

Crude oil inventories in America’s largest storage hub are falling fast as the post-pandemic demand rebound continues to outpace production. Stockpiles in Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for West Texas Intermediate oil futures fell nearly 4 million barrels in the last two weeks, bringing inventories to the lowest since March of 2020 when the pandemic forced the country into lockdown.

Source: Bloomberg

4. US-Iran talks: Washington may need to rethink its approach to Iran

Jun 24, 2021

Washington may need to rethink its approach to Iran if the serious differences between the two countries on resuming compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal cannot be resolved "in the foreseeable future", a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. The sixth round of indirect talks adjourned on Sunday, two days after hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian judiciary chief who is subject to U.S. sanctions, was elected president of the Islamic Republic. Raisi is due to take office in August.

Source: Reuters

5. BOE Warns Against Tightening Too Soon as Inflation Surges

Jun 24, 2021

BOE said that the economy still needs support to recover from the pandemic. The central bank warned against “premature tightening,” toughening its language on the need to maintain stimulus. The remarks contrasted with a sharp increase in the bank’s outlook for inflation, which officials now see peaking at 3%, a half point higher than their forecast just six weeks ago. Officials led by Governor Andrew Bailey voted unanimously to keep the benchmark lending rate at 0.1% and by 8-1 to maintain the pace of its bond purchases, targeting a cumulative 895 billion pounds ($1.2 trillion) by the end of this year. 

Source: Bloomberg

6. UK inflation pressures mount as bounce-back

Jun 23, 2021

Inflation pressures faced by British firms hit record levels this month. Inflation faced by consumers could now have a lot further to rise after breaking above the Bank of England's 2% target last month. The Bank of England expects the strength of Britain’s economic recovery to push inflation above 3% by the end of the year before falling back in 2022 as the post-Covid boom slows down.

Source: The Guardian

7. US Weekly unemployment claims have fallen considerably since the beginning of the year

Jun 24, 2021

Applications for U.S. state unemployment insurance fell last week, reflecting an improving economy. Initial claims in regular state programs decreased by 7,000 to 411,000 in the week ended June 19, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 380,000 new applications. The prior week’s claims were revised up to 418,000. The initial claims remain significantly higher than they were before Covid-19 and many employers say they are having trouble finding workers.

Source: Bloomberg

8. U.S. new home sales hit one-year low

Jun 23, 2021

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell to a one-year low in May as the median price of newly built houses soared amid expensive raw materials, including framing lumber. New home sales dropped 5.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 769,000 units last month, the lowest level since May 2020. April's sales pace was revised down to 817,000 units from the previously reported 863,000 units.

Source: Reuters