Daily FNArena News - Commodities

Ahead of Australian resource sector quarterly production reports, brokers highlight favoured commodities and stock preferences.

Concern over potential global enriched uranium supply constraints from Russia has hurried up utility demand but the current supply overhang means ongoing price weakness.

Demand for mineral sands improves, worst not yet over for copper, Grasberg’s copper future and the slippery slope for coal prices.

2014 is shaping up as the year that the world starts moving away from very low interest rates so the importance of supply and demand should re-emerge for commodities.

The spot uranium price continued to drift lower last week as sellers bowed further to a lack of urgency from buyers.

Soggy outlook for coal prices, iron ore subdued and copper struggles. Meanwhile, there’s a chance the central bank agreement on gold sales will come to an end.

Morgan Stanley believes BHP’s valuation premium is jusfified, Merrills upgrades gold forecasts and UBS mulls China’s bauxite supply.

BA-Merrill Lynch has become the latest broker to downgrade uranium price forecasts as another week of little interest passes by.

Chinese growth moderates but stays firm, while coal prices are likely to feel the pinch for longer. The zinc market is unlikely to tighten much and the big rise in nickel prices may have passed.

Unwinding the spin on copper and iron ore financing and contemplating the expenditure shift to onshore oil.