US stocks gained ground as investors weighed on the prospects of Fed tightening given this week’s inflation data, which is forecast to have yielded 7.3% in January. If this level materialises, this could intensify the outlook for the hawkish Fed, dampening growth prospects in the longer term. The dollar was rangebound, and the 10yr US Treasury yield edged higher. Elsewhere, one of ECB’s council members said he expects an interest rate increase as soon as Q4 this year. UK house prices rose at the slowest in more than six months in January, which could be a sign of normalising the market.
Metal prices have rallied today, except for LME, CMX, and SHFE copper, which are mostly rangebound. Despite the fact that the buoyant Chinese stock market copper failed to find support, closing at $9,777.50/t. Nickel was volatile in the overnight session and has pushed back above $23,000/t, closing at $23,398/t. The spread is at $399/t back, with inventories at 87,012 tonnes. Aluminium was well supported today, trading back through $5,100/t to close just off the highs at $3,132/t. Iron ore and steel prices resumed on the front foot, with SGX trading at $150/t.
Oil futures dropped as the rally cooled, with WTI and Brent falling to $91.30/bl and $92.78/bl. Precious metals were mixed, with silver rallying up to $22.93/oz and gold at $1,817.16/oz.
For more in-depth analysis of base and precious metals, please see our Quarterly Metals report.
All price data is from 07.02.2022 as of 17:30
