by Jeff Yoders on MARCH 14, 2016
Our MetalMiner IndX saw positive growth last month in the Aluminum, Copper and Construction sub-indexes and the Global Precious MMI saw a 10% increase. Even the metals that have price increases held their value from February.
MM-IndX_TRENDS_Chart_March2016_FNL-TOPVALUE100
While the underlying factors boosting the MMI — Chinese steel production cuts and renewed
demand for iron ore and other raw materials — may help the supply/demand picture, we’d still like
to wait for more evidence of a sustained turnaround before calling this a bull market.
The oil price recovery was also a big factor in February. Saudi Arabia and other powerful OPEC members are reportedly discussing how to boost oil prices to $50 per barrel.
Despite reports of a Russia and Saudi Arabia-approved production freeze, however, other non-OPEC nations such as Iraq still have not committed to cutting their own oil production. New production from Iran has entered the market at a much lower pace than most expected, but there is also good reason to believe Iran will ramp up production gradually as it deals with the nuances of re-entering global oil trading.
Source:metalminer
