Key Macroeconomic Indicators for Base Metal Prices (2017-5-25)

Published: May 25, 2017 09:42
Market will eye last week’s US initial jobless claims, OPEC’s half-year meeting and minutes of the US Fed’s May policy meeting.

SHANGHAI, May 25 (SMM) – Market will eye last week’s US initial jobless claims, OPEC’s half-year meeting and minutes of the US Fed’s May policy meeting.    

US initial jobless claims for last week are expected to be in a normal range, which will have limited impact on US dollar. 

Minutes of the US Fed’s May policy meeting showed US Fed officials agreed to announce details for plans of scaling back balance sheet in the short term and consider it appropriate to begin reducing balance sheet from this year. US Fed officials understand that it is a cautious and wise approach to wait for more evidence to show economic slowdown is just temporary. This means the US Fed wishes to raise interest rate, but is willing to wait for more economic data. This caused the US dollar index to fall.   

The OEPC will hold its 172th half-year meeting today. Members of the OPEC will discuss matters over extending production cuts during the meeting so as to lift oil prices and stabilize market. It is pointed out that oil prices may rise initially and then fall back since positive impact from the meeting has been priced in.  


See SMM price forecast, please click: SMM Price Outlook for Base Metals on SHFE (May 25, 2017)


 

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn
For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn
Related News
April Operating Rate Fell Both YoY and MoM, Multiple Factors Pressuring Continued Pullback in May
1 min ago
April Operating Rate Fell Both YoY and MoM, Multiple Factors Pressuring Continued Pullback in May
Read More
April Operating Rate Fell Both YoY and MoM, Multiple Factors Pressuring Continued Pullback in May
April Operating Rate Fell Both YoY and MoM, Multiple Factors Pressuring Continued Pullback in May
In April, affected by multiple factors including declining end-user home appliance demand, prior concentrated orders having front-loaded subsequent procurement needs, and high copper prices being under pressure, the enamelled wire industry's operating rate fell both YoY and MoM. With continued decline in home appliance end-user demand, compounded by production disruptions during the Labour Day holiday and the approaching off-season, SMM expects the enamelled wire industry's operating rate in May to pull back by 3.27 percentage points MoM and 0.21 percentage points YoY.
1 min ago
April Operating Rate Fell Both MoM and YoY, Multiple Factors Pressuring Continued Pullback in May
5 mins ago
April Operating Rate Fell Both MoM and YoY, Multiple Factors Pressuring Continued Pullback in May
Read More
April Operating Rate Fell Both MoM and YoY, Multiple Factors Pressuring Continued Pullback in May
April Operating Rate Fell Both MoM and YoY, Multiple Factors Pressuring Continued Pullback in May
According to SMM, the comprehensive operating rate of the enamelled wire industry in April was 75.31%, down 2.44 percentage points MoM and 1.48 percentage points YoY. Specifically, the operating rate of large enterprises was 80.19%, medium-sized enterprises 62.86%, and small enterprises 71.53%.
5 mins ago
Grasberg Mine to Resume Production by the End of 2027, LME Copper and SHFE Copper Closed Sharply Higher Overnight [SMM Copper Morning Meeting Minutes]
54 mins ago
Grasberg Mine to Resume Production by the End of 2027, LME Copper and SHFE Copper Closed Sharply Higher Overnight [SMM Copper Morning Meeting Minutes]
Read More
Grasberg Mine to Resume Production by the End of 2027, LME Copper and SHFE Copper Closed Sharply Higher Overnight [SMM Copper Morning Meeting Minutes]
Grasberg Mine to Resume Production by the End of 2027, LME Copper and SHFE Copper Closed Sharply Higher Overnight [SMM Copper Morning Meeting Minutes]
SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at and dipped below $13,693.5/mt, moved sideways at the beginning of the session, then the copper price center fluctuated upward and probed up to $13,969/mt near the end of the session, before fluctuating downward to finally close at $13,920/mt, up 2.84%, with trading volume at 26,800 lots and open interest at 272,000 lots, an increase of 1,201 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bulls adding positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2606 contract opened at 105,500 yuan/mt, dipped to 105,390 yuan/mt at the beginning of the session, then the copper price center gradually shifted upward and touched a high of 107,350 yuan/mt near the end of the session, before fluctuating downward to finally close at 106,770 yuan/mt, up 2.35%, with trading volume at 75,900 lots and open interest at 209,000 lots, an increase of 4,829 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bulls adding positions.
54 mins ago