Daily FNArena News - Commodities

Steel industry consultant MEPS confirms things have picked up in global steel markets.

Unlike other commodities, copper and zinc have risen without significant correction over the last year or more. Citigroup analysts muse over the state of the commodities market.

Steel industry consultant believes the price of Nickel could well face some pressure over coming months.

The copper price looks like it may go up forever, but copper futures margin increases on both sides of the Atlantic may result in some commodity fund adjustments, and that’s potentially scary.

Chartists at Commerzbank see profit taking looming in the short term. A projected bounce back to hit US$715 by September should keep investors excited though.

The price of steel in North America has been running at a significant premium to the rest of the world, but demand is still strong.

Barclays Capital maintains most commodity and energy markets are still driven by fundamentals. And they still look very, very bullish.

Investor activity has pushed up the price of gold’s precious cousins, but the fundamentals are not exactly something to write home about.

Agriculture is where the long term value is amongst commodities. But you never know, it may still take a while before the catch up starts.

There is mounting concern that commodity prices driven by speculative momentum beyond fundamentals must soon see a pullback and increased volatility. National Australia Bank, amongst others, acknowledges speculation but reinforces fundamental upside.