Daily FNArena News - Commodities

Global growth momentum helps base metals but bulks languish; UBS looks ahead to production reports for the Oz energy sector while JP Morgan upgrades oil forecasts.

A further delay to Japanese reactor restarts and problems for ERA’s Ranger Deeps highlighted uncertainty in a uranium spot market which was again very quiet last week.

Low inventory and recovering demand spell upside for the copper market but by how much and for whom?

Diversified miners are well placed on the swings and roundabouts of industrial commodities, while mineral sands are weak and coal is oversupplied.

Weak activity in the first half of 2014 confirms utilities are currently well covered by existing contracts and inventories, meaning no pressure to buy.

Chinese steel, cement, copper, aluminium and iron ore prices all look subdued. Iraq is a swing factor for oil while gold’s recent rally looks to be stalling.

Activity in the uranium term market has seen a pick-up but the spot market is showing little sign of life.

The spot uranium price continues to wallow as demand remains absent in the face of oversupply.

Aluminium in vehicles; picking nickel and gold stocks; copper looks oversold; iron ore risks.

Nickel deficit likely but no shortage of bauxite; iron ore and coal prices still under pressure; Rio Tinto dictates titanium dioxide.