1. China’s aluminium exports down by 37.9 percent from January

March 8, 2019

China’s aluminium exports stood at 343,000 tonnes in February, down by a whopping 37.9 percent from January’s record high of 552,000 tonnes. This is the lowest since February 2017, although customs said exports were up 9.7 percent year-on-year.

Source: Reuters

2. China’s copper imports fell to their lowest in 11 months

March 8, 2019

China’s unwrought copper imports fell year-on-year in February to their lowest in 11 months. Arrivals of unwrought copper, including anode, refined, alloy and semi-finished copper products, came in at 311,000 tonnes last month from 479,000 tonnes in January, which is the lowest monthly total since March 2018. China’s imports of copper concentrate jumped 24.9 percent from a year earlier to 1.93 million tonnes in February; the imports were up 1.6 percent from January.

Source: Reuters

3. US crude oil production reached 12 million barrels per day (mbpd)

March 07, 2019

US crude oil stockpiles rose much more than expected last week, with inventories up by 7.1 million barrels to 452.93 million barrels, according to a weekly report by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday. Surging US production is undermining efforts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day.

Source: Money control

4. Jewellers may restock gold for summer season wedding demand

March 06, 2019

Jewellers may restock gold after the recent drop in gold prices in India. Gold prices dropped from the recent high of 34,031 to 31,777 in the domestic commodities future exchange - MCX; it is a near 6% drop in prices which is prompting jewellers to accumulate gold for future demand for the summer wedding season.

Source: Economic Times

5. India Jeera output drops in Gujarat but increases in Rajasthan

March 04, 2019

According to the Federation of Indian Spice Stakeholders (FISS), Jeera output is expected to be 416,000 tonnes for the year 2019 or 9% higher in Rajasthan, while production in Gujarat is likely to dip to 1, 66,640 tonnes or 3% lower. Seeing current production levels, we can expect higher exports in the current year. Fresh crop from Turkey and Syria is likely to enter the markets only during May and June and we still have 2 months to supply our product in international markets, which will give some advantage to the Indian crop

Source: Business Line

6. India Coriander production to drop 27%

March 04, 2019

According to the Federation of Indian Spice Stakeholders (FISS), coriander output declined by 24% to 247,310 tonnes which was because of a 27% drop in acreage of 203,800 hectares. Coriander crop in Gujarat is likely to be down 52 per cent to 38,890 tonnes, with acreage of 30,500 hectares. The largest grower, Madhya Pradesh, will see coriander output at 1, 16,510 tonnes, down 15 per cent over the last year.

Source: Business Line

7. Nickel market has been in deficit for consecutive three years, expecting another deficit this year

March 04, 2019

Nickel prices climbed to a six-month peak as expectations of a fourth consecutive year of supply deficit were reinforced by signs of robust demand from steel mills in China. International Nickel Study Group shows the nickel market deficit at 46,000 tonnes in 2016, 115,000 tonnes in 2017 and 127,000 tonnes last year. Global nickel demand is estimated at about 2.4 million tonnes this year.

Source: Live Mint

8. LME and CME copper inventories have been shrinking

March 04, 2019

LME and CME copper stocks have been shrinking; those in Shanghai have jumped by 108,363 tonnes to 227,049 tonnes since the start of January. The inventory drop is a result of strong imports from China, which imported a record 3.75 million tonnes of refined copper last year and January's tally of 336,680 tonnes was up 7 percent year-on-year.

Source: Reuters