US stocks surged as inflation expectations eased and the Fed’s Bullard pointed that recessionary fears are overdone; he also said he is in favour of front-loading interest rate hikes before slowing down the pace later on in the year. University of Michigan inflation expectations readings showed easing from a 14-year high, with inflation settling at 3.1% over the next 5-10 years. Sales of new US homes jumped by 10% in May, first monthly increase this year; however, the rise could be temporary and attributed to people securing mortgages before additional rate hikes later on in the year. The dollar and 10yr US Treasury yield were range-bound.
Metals sold off sharply today as global recession fears continue to mount. Nickel and tin saw the sharpest losses, both down more than 7% on the day, with the former closed at $22,400/t; tin closed at $24,590/t. Aluminium and copper losses were much more moderate, as both metals close the week 5% and 11% lower, respectively. Copper in particular, has tested the lows not seen since February 2021 at $8,122/t before closing at $8,381/t. Zinc and lead closed lower on the day at $3,350/t and $1,915/t, respectively. Total zinc inventories across seven markets in China continue to fall, with the latest decline pushing the level down to 208,300mt; the LME zinc inventory levels are at the 2020 lows.
Oil futures followed a general market consensus following the easing of inflation expectations. WTI and Brent strengthened into $107/bl and $113/bl. Precious metals were marginally unchanged, with gold and silver settling at $1,827/oz and $21.19/oz, respectively.
For more in-depth analysis of base and precious metals, our Q2 2022 Quarterly Metals report is out now!
All price data is from 24.06.2022 as of 17:30
