Copper outlook story has long and short versions
May 8 - 14, 2013
A RECENT analyst note out of London makes a fair case for copper while claiming substitution is the single biggest risk to the red metal.
You can call me Al: Deutsche changes tune on copper
March 27 - April 2, 2013
COMPARING copper supply to the perennial basket case that is aluminium seems a bit over the top but Deutsche Bank claims there are indeed some similarities.
Giving the right impression
March 13 - 19, 2013
KEN Brinsden’s Marius Kloppers impression was at least a sure sign the Atlas Iron CEO is taking his own advice to others who might be caught up in the “gross negativity” around iron ore prices and the future direction of the market. The advice?
Celadon win a boon for Origo
March 6 - 12, 2013
A WIN for Chinese coal development group, Celadon Mining, has provided a boost for Mongolia-focused resource investment firm and major shareholder, Origo Partners.
Re-enter the dragon
January 30 - February 5, 2013
THE idea being circulated in some circles that lower GDP growth spells the end of the China-driven commodities cycle is misguided, according to CRU Strategies senior consultant Zhenzhen Liu. Growth going forward will not match the previous decade but the China story is well and truly alive, albeit in a slightly different package.
Chinese deals, a rare commodity
January 30 - February 5, 2013
CUMBERSOME Chinese bureaucracy and the inadequate management of Chinese enterprises are as much to blame for the country’s infrequent number of overseas acquisitions as the international community’s general reluctance to do business with China, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers director Allan Zhang.
Chinese whispers confirm hard times
August 1 - 7, 2012
FAIR to say those on a flying visit around China last week by investment-types did not exactly witness the sights and sounds that would make most miners particularly happy campers.
Report card bears sombre news
July 4 - 10, 2012
THE base metal commodities team from Barclays took a trip to China last week, visiting producers, consumers, traders and bonded warehouses in Beijing, Qingdao, Xi’an, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Panyu. Unfortunately the postcard spoke of political issues rather than lots of base metal action.
China only ‘half built’
April 18 - 24, 2012
THERE are five key drivers of China’s steel demand growth and these, in combination with iron ore supply constraints, sees Credit Suisse forecasting strong iron ore prices for some years still to come.
Galaxy in the right neighbourhood
March 7 - 13, 2012
DRIVING into Galaxy Resources’ newly built Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant in China, it rapidly becomes abundantly clear why this site – several thousand kilometres from the company’s Mt Cattlin spodumene mine in Western Australia – was selected.
Avonlea boss takes cheap-entry ticket to China
February 29 - March 6, 2012
AVONLEA Minerals managing director David Riekie is in China this week, trying to convince companies up there that Avonlea’s Namibian iron ore plan is worth backing.
Fixing China’s property market a key test
February 22 - 28, 2012
BOTH the bulls and the bears on China will find something to encourage them in the latest property numbers out of the country.
China coal trains won’t drive prices down, says analyst
November 24 - 30, 2011
IT’S a theory that has gained more momentum as the current market malaise has dragged on: that China’s roll-out of rail networks throughout its key coal provinces will further lower the floor propping up thermal coal prices.
Mixed views on China relaxing policy
November 10 - 16, 2011
THE latest data out of China suggests the issue of inflation has come under some sort of control. But analysts are divided over whether the easing inflation rate will lead to a loosening of the tight monetary policy that has hurt demand for commodities in recent months.
Jitters overtake ‘constructive' China view
October 13 - 19, 2011
RUMOURS and speculation about the health of the Chinese economy appear to be causing as much angst among investors as the very real and very tangible economic crisis playing out in Europe. That’s the impression of Hong Kong-based Merrill Lynch economist Ting Lu, who has just returned home from the bank’s annual conference in Washington DC.
Property symptomatic of broader China malaise?
September 29 - October 5, 2011
THE latest signs of a slow-down in the Chinese property market should be unnerving to followers of Australia’s resources sector for a number of reasons.
Real trouble in little China
August 25 - 31, 2011
A CORPORATE scandal engulfing a Hong Kong-listed gold miner is doing little for the already embattled reputation of the Chinese-based companies listed there.
Flaw in housing projection: Goldman
August 18 - 24, 2011
THE veracity of a wire story last week that said China may be lowering its target for 10 million housing starts next year by 20% has been questioned by the commodity team at Goldman Sachs. Hear, hear say the commodity bulls.
One way is up
August 11 - 17, 2011
AMID all the speculation around the direction of China’s economy, one Australian has returned from a visit to the country with a very positive impression of China’s steel industry and its ongoing demand for Australian resources.
China’s peddlers power Galaxy
July 7 - 13, 2011
Efforts by the Chinese Government to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels (and hence China’s generation of carbon dioxide production) may have more or less guaranteed a secure long term off-take arrangement for one of Australia’s latest niche mineral miners.