Industrial metals have gone from boom to bust in the space of only three months, writes Andy Home.

"Inventories for metals are shrinking to multi-year lows."

Chinese mills have idled dozens of blast furnaces as stocks piled up after domestic demand weakened, hit by covid-19 restrictions and bad weather.

"It's not just China where steel output is under pressure," said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING.

“It is increasingly clear that concerns about demand are taking precedence over supply issues in the metals markets”.

Industrial metal prices have just seen their biggest quarter of falls in many years.

Gold has held up well relative to silver and platinum.

The group plans to pay 1.8 billion yuan ($269 million) for a 71% stake in a company mining for lithium in Hunan province.