Commodity Outlook

Iron Ore Beats Back Bears as Trade Fight Batters Commodities

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Iron ore’s become the odd man out as a spike in global trade tensions hurts commodities, with importers in top user China scooping up cargoes to feed booming mills and the government intensifying an anti-pollution drive. That’s helped benchmark prices to stay the course. While copper in London is headed for a sixth weekly drop and the Bloomberg Commodity Index has swooned from a May peak, spot 62 percent iron ore…

Top Iron Ore Shipper Cuts Outlook as Price Seen Back in $50s

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The world’s largest iron ore shipper has cut its outlook for prices this year, predicting the commodity will sink back into the $50s a metric ton as supplies rise while top buyer China starts to reduce purchases. The raw material will average $59.40 a ton this year, down from an earlier forecast of $61.80, and then drop to $51.10 in 2019 and $51 in 2020, Australia’s Department of Industry, Innovation & Science said…

Zimbabwe Ownership Law Stymies RioZim’s Bold Expansion Plan

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HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – RioZim Ltd., a Zimbabwean diamond, nickel and gold miner, wants to more than double output of gemstones at its Murowa mine. The problem is the expansion depends on attracting $125 million in investment against a backdrop of high royalties and ownership laws that scare investors. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who replaced President Robert Mugabe after military intervention in November, has said the southern African nation won’t apply the ownership laws, known…

Iron Ore Imports Boom as China Mills Go Big Before Curbs End

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – China’s just imported a gargantuan volume of iron ore. Shipments topped 100 million metric tons in January, the second-highest volume ever and a record for the month, as mills bought more cargoes amid expectations steel output will rebound when winter curbs are lifted. Purchases swelled to 100.3 million tons, 9.3 percent higher than a year ago, and well above the 84.1 million tons seen in December, according to customs data on Thursday. The…

Congo May More Than Double Tax on Critical Cobalt Supply

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Democratic Republic of Congo is preparing to more than double a tax on two-thirds of global cobalt supply, potentially increasing the cost of the critical battery metal just as the world begins to embrace electric vehicles. Congo, the world’s biggest cobalt producer, will increase the royalty miners pay on exports of the metal to 5 percent from 2 percent if it opts to categorize cobalt as a “strategic substance,” Mines Minister Martin…

Glencore Will Double Dividend, Restart Zinc as Metals Rally

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Glencore Plc promised to double its dividend, restart some zinc production and boost spending as the world’s largest commodity trader reaps rewards from soaring metals prices. The slate of news from Glencore’s investor presentation on Tuesday shows the mining company is firing on all cylinders, with profitable zinc, cobalt and copper mines around the world. The growth has been aided by a powerful trading business that’s on track for its second-best…

Oil to Open 2018 Stuck Between Thirst for Growth, Wary Investors

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Investor exhaustion with poor returns from the oil and gas industry may mean less financing to expand the U.S. shale boom next year, and less of a drive for consolidation. After nearing a record in 2016, equity issues from U.S. oil and gas companies are on pace for an eight-year low this year, amid doubts about the stability of the rally in global crude prices. Mergers and acquisitions and…

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