On Tuesday, China's Central Bank announced it will raise the deposit reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points effective January 18th, triggering a sell-off in futures and stock markets. Soaring prices of base metals previously driven up by speculative funds also weakened. CBI believes base metals prices will continue to experience corrections over the short term, while the long-term outlook remains positive as the global economy continues to recovery.

Copper: On Tuesday, the announcement by the China's Central Bank to raise the deposit reserve requirement ratio, sending commodity markets lower. However, spot markets reported no sell-offs, with downstream producers instead showing strong purchasing interest, with brisk transactions reported.   (Page 3)

Aluminum:  New domestic monetary policy announcements restricted further increases in aluminum prices, but almost unchanged market fundamentals and rising costs will help aluminum prices remain on an upward track following the waning impact from new macro policy. (Page 6)

Zinc:  Trading volumes of imported zinc concentrate declined significantly, with TC offers falling to USD 200/mt. (Page 8)

Lead: On Tuesday, LME lead prices sank to USD 2,400/mt, but then later rebounded to USD 2,485/mt. Domestic lead producers remain optimistic since lead prices jumped to RMB 17,000/mt, but downstream demand remains weak due to limited orders at the year's end. .   (Page 10)

Nickel: NPI of different grades have turned in mixed performances in NPI markets. (Page 14)