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 for 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
China's PMI Indices Decline in July, Impacting Copper Demand and Consumption Recovery
30 mins ago
China's PMI Indices Decline in July, Impacting Copper Demand and Consumption Recovery
Read More
China's PMI Indices Decline in July, Impacting Copper Demand and Consumption Recovery
China's PMI Indices Decline in July, Impacting Copper Demand and Consumption Recovery
[SMM Copper Express] The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released data showing that the manufacturing PMI, non-manufacturing business activity index, and composite PMI output index all pulled back in July, weakening the overall business production and operation climate. Overall manufacturing demand was under pressure, which weighed on copper semis purchase willingness in traditional sectors such as home appliances and general machinery, dragging down the pace of recovery in copper consumption in the short term.
30 mins ago
Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (Jul 31)
33 mins ago
Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (Jul 31)
Read More
Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (Jul 31)
Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (Jul 31)
The following table shows the ferrous and nonferrous metals movement on the SHFE and DCE on 31 Jul , 2026
33 mins ago
Kazakhstan Approves 300,000 mt Copper Smelting Project in Balkhash, Planned to Start Production in 2030
49 mins ago
Kazakhstan Approves 300,000 mt Copper Smelting Project in Balkhash, Planned to Start Production in 2030
Read More
Kazakhstan Approves 300,000 mt Copper Smelting Project in Balkhash, Planned to Start Production in 2030
Kazakhstan Approves 300,000 mt Copper Smelting Project in Balkhash, Planned to Start Production in 2030
On July 30, the Kazakh government announced that it had approved the investment agreement signed between the Ministry of Industry and Construction and Qazaq Smelter LLP for the Balkhash copper smelter project. The total private investment for the project is 750 billion tenge (approximately $1.58 billion). Construction is planned to start in 2027, with production commencing in 2030. The project is designed to produce 300,000 mt of copper cathode, 10 mt of gold, 300 mt of silver, and over 1.5 million mt of sulphuric acid annually, and will create around 1,200 permanent jobs. The Kazakh government expects that, once commissioned, the project will boost the country’s copper production by about 50% to above 800,000 mt, and increase exports of high-value-added copper products from 460,000 mt to 760,000 mt. Currently, the project is still at the stage of having its investment agreement approved, and the authorities have not yet disclosed its source of copper concentrates, process route, financing, or EPC arrangements. In addition, KAZ Minerals also plans to build another 300,000 mt/year copper smelter in the Abai Region, with a latest commissioning target of 2030–2031. If both projects proceed as planned, the combined new nominal copper cathode capacity in Kazakhstan will reach 600,000 mt/year, and the capacity for domestic smelting of copper concentrates may see a notable increase.
49 mins ago