Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Iron ore rose — adding to two big weekly gains — on speculation China’s top economic planner will unveil more stimulus measures on Tuesday. Other industrial metals were largely steady.
The steelmaking staple advanced as much as 2.6% in Singapore, after surging 18% over the previous two weeks. A press briefing on Tuesday morning will include five senior officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, according to a notice from the government on Sunday, and there are expectations it might involve announcements on more public spending.
Beijing unleashed a slew of support measures — including interest-rate cuts and targeted support for the property sector — late last month, driving sharp gains in global metals prices.
A week-long public holiday in China that started last Tuesday has meant there have been no more official announcements. Chinese industry delegates to LME Week said they believed that the policy package represented a significant shift by authorities to place more emphasis on reviving economic growth.
There’s a “prospect of further gains when Chinese markets reopen on Tuesday,” ANZ Group Holdings Ltd. said in a note. “Any sustained pick up will likely hang on more concrete details” of the fiscal stimulus measures that Beijing promised, it said.
Singapore iron ore futures rose 2% to $110.80 a ton as of 11:06 a.m. London time. Among base metals, aluminum, copper and zinc were little changed on the London Metal Exchange, while nickel rose 0.9%.
Read More: Metals markets eye China reopening for stimulus rally cues
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