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Emerging markets hard-currency bonds could remain volatile given the challenging global macroeconomic backdrop, but we see pockets of opportunities. BloombergNEF believes total metal demand from lithium-ion batteries will reach 13.5 million metric tons by 2030. Strong demand for c...
The energy sector led during the month of July, providing almost all of the positive performance due to a strong rally in natural gas prices. The heat wave from late June into early July in the lower Midwest U.S. killed cattle, quickly reducing supply. However, both cattle and hogs ra...
China has nearly reached its self-imposed maximum capacity quota and currently operates at 92% utilization. This quota is unlikely to change. Aluminum demand continues to be driven by the renewables and electric vehicle related sector. The cost of producing aluminum is prohibitive...
A curious tug of war continues in the Aluminum industry. It remains focused on likely demand destruction due to recessionary forces, generally blamed on central banks’ rapid raising of interest rates. Some might remember how natural gas prices started rising last year. Most of ...
On Wednesday, the Consumer Price Index came in at a 9.1% annual rate. The higher-than-expected reading puts the CPI at a new 41-year high. Businesses are also getting squeezed. On Thursday, the Producer Price Index showed wholesale costs rising at a massive 11.3% year-over-year. T...
For the last two decades, China’s infrastructure spending has been the engine of demand growth for steel, copper, and aluminum prices. Setting aside the record infrastructure bond sales already completed, the projected above-quota infrastructure bond sales, the development bank...
Rising energy costs are not a regional issue. Despite the global market enjoying a modest surplus, exchange inventories remain very low, and the market for physical metal remains tight. Investors in the futures markets remain focused on the recessionary impact of high energy price...
Why base metals are falling back to earth. Why the downward trend in metals is raising inflation fears. How inflation may weigh on the mining sector. Metals and mining stocks enjoyed strong gains in the first quarter of the year but are now sliding back. Greg Bar...
If higher prices, which have now broadened, are allowed to persist, they can become sticky. A wage-price spiral, where rising wages beget rising prices, which cause further pressure on wages, certainly could allow inflation to be a challenge for longer than expected. In general, tradi...
Why an economic downturn may not weigh on oil prices for long. Oil has a long-term inventory issue, and only falling demand will help bring down prices. Why oil prices could climb to $130 a barrel or higher in coming quarters. Oil prices have remained at higher l...