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Forecasts and market analysis based on price assessments from Fastmarkets MB and Fastmarkets AMM

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May 2018 | Base Metals


Market Summary: “On hold”


The main news of the past week that potentially impacts all the base metals is that the US-China trade war is being put “on hold,” but markets are treating the news cautiously at the moment, and rightly so. It does have the potential though to reduce some key risks threatening global growth and weighing on sentiment in the base metals. A pickup in economic data would be another supportive factor for metal sentiment, as would an end to the US dollar’s rally.

“On hold”
The main news of the past week that potentially impacts all the base metals is that the US-China trade war is being put “on hold,” but markets are treating the news cautiously at the moment, and rightly so. It does have the potential though to reduce some key risks threatening global growth and weighing on sentiment in the base metals. A pickup in economic data would be another supportive factor for metal sentiment, as would an end to the US dollar’s rally.

Aluminium: Adjusting well

Consumers are focusing on diversifying sources of supply to mitigate sanction-related risks, and the Chinese aluminium market – which is oversupplied – offers an easy solution. The nearby LME backwardation has flared and should attract more inflows. As such, the...

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