Copper prices fell on Thursday, as higher-than-expected inflation rate in the United States sparked fears of monetary tightening, potentially restricting liquidity into commodities.



The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dipped 0.3% to 76,150 yuan ($11,799.25) a tonne at 0224 GMT, while three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was unchanged at $10,445 a tonne.



Both contracts were hovering near their record high levels hit on Monday.



U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in nearly 12 years in April as booming demand amid a reopening economy pushed against supply constraints, which could add fuel to financial market fears of a lengthy period of higher inflation.



The consumer price index jumped 0.8% last month, its largest gain since June 2009. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI would climb 0.2%.



FUNDAMENTALS



* Canadian miner Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd saw its full-year copper production at 150,000-180,000 tonnes, slightly down from a previous estimate of 160,000-180,000 tonnes, after reporting first-quarter output up 29% year-on-year to 45,449 tonnes.



* LME aluminium rose 1.1% to $2,506.50 a tonne, nickel dropped 1% to $17,615 a tonne while tin declined 0.8% to $29,420 a tonne.



* ShFE nickel was down 1.7% at 130,020 yuan a tonne, tin lost 2% to 192,420 yuan a tonne while lead declined 1.6% to 15,365 yuan a tonne. 



MARKETS NEWS



* Asian shares faced a third day of losses, after the shocking rise in U.S. inflation bludgeoned Wall Street and sent bond yields surging on worries the Federal Reserve might have to move early on tightening.



1230 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly ($1 = 6.4538 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

copper-1711056_1920

Copper eases as U.S. inflation data sparks liquidity concerns

KINSHASA, May 12 (Reuters) &#8211; The World Bank on Wednesday signed a $500 million infrastructure project with Democratic Republic of Congo to improve roads, mitigate flood risks, fight erosion and develop public spaces across the capital Kinshasa.



Kinshasa is the largest French-speaking city in the world with a population of just over 17 million.



Funding for the &#8220;Kin Elenda&#8221; project will include a credit and grant of $250 million each, the World Bank said.



&#8220;Kin Elenda will help change the daily lives of the people of Kinshasa through the investments it will make throughout the city,&#8221; said Jean-Christophe Carret, the World Bank&#8217;s country director.



(Reporting by Hereward Holland and Fiston Mahamba Editing by Cooper Inveen, William Maclean)

istockphoto-1250489640-640×640

World Bank signs $500 mln infrastructure project for Congo’s capital

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lazarus_Chakwera_2017-532x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-403813" width="514" height="773" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lazarus_Chakwera_2017-532x800.jpg 532w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lazarus_Chakwera_2017-199x300.jpg 199w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lazarus_Chakwera_2017-768x1155.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lazarus_Chakwera_2017-1021x1536.jpg 1021w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lazarus_Chakwera_2017-scaled.jpg 1361w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 514px) 100vw, 514px" /><figcaption>Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera&nbsp; Photo via Wikimedia Commons&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>



Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera warned on Wednesday that his country&#8217;s leading foreign exchange earner, tobacco, was in terminal decline and he urged a switch to high-growth crops like cannabis, which was legalised locally for some uses last year.



Chakwera made the comments during a state of the nation address in which he said tobacco was expected to earn less than $200 million in 2021, a figure roughly similar to the past two years but well below previous annual earnings that used to top $350 million.



&#8220;The inconvenient truth &#8230; is that while Malawi has come a long way by relying on tobacco as our &#8230; largest single crop contributor to our GDP, this reliance is now seriously threatened by declining demand worldwide,&#8221; Chakwera said. &#8220;Clearly we need to diversify and grow other crops like cannabis, which was legalized last year for industrial and medicinal use,&#8221; he added. Tobacco was a stain on an otherwise booming agricultural sector, which the president said would enable economic growth to recover to 3.8% this year, according to the latest forecasts, and would push it to 5.4% next year.



That compared with last year&#8217;s lacklustre 1.9% growth owing to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.



Decades of public health education have gradually convinced people worldwide of the dangers of tobacco, leading to a sustained drop in sales. At the same time, cannabis has started to be accepted as a medicine.



Malawi&#8217;s parliament passed a bill in February last year that makes it legal to cultivate and process cannabis for medicines and hemp fibre used in industry, but stops short of decriminalising recreational use. &#8220;I have directed (the) Ministry of Agriculture to begin a radical search for a basket of alternative crops so that by 2030, Malawi can do away with its reliance on tobacco, except in limited cases where there are pre-agreed quotas,&#8221; Chakwera said.



Countries around the world are either legalising or relaxing laws on cannabis, including several in southern Africa such as Zambia, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.



(Reporting by Frank Phiri Writing by Tim Cock Editing by Catherine Evans and Giles Elgood)

As tobacco declines, Malawi must switch to cannabis – President

May 12 (Reuters) &#8211; Emerging market currencies and stocks suffered on Wednesday as fears over rising price pressures fuelled bets on earlier interest rate hikes and underpinned the dollar and global yields ahead of U.S. inflation data.



MSCI&#8217;s index of emerging market currencies slipped 0.2%, falling for a second consecutive session, while stocks fell 0.6% to its lowest since late-March, as tech shares across the globe sold off.



Asian heavyweights were the biggest drag on the MSCI equity index, with Taiwan&#8217;s main index tumbling as much as 8.5% on a mix of tech woes and COVID fears before recovering some losses.



The dollar rose from a two-month trough, while U.S. Treasury yields gained on anticipation of the inflation reading at 1230 GMT.



A stronger-than-expected reading could see the Federal Reserve shortening its timeline to begin tapering policy, which would result in higher U.S. interest rates and pressure risk-driven assets. Global stock markets, particularly technology stocks, plummeted on this sentiment.



&#8220;The global stock sell-off has continued on fears that rampant commodity prices and higher inflation – driven by the recovery from the pandemic – will lead to higher rates around the world,&#8221; said Hasnain Malik in a note to clients.



Still, the Fed has exuded largely dovish signals due to weakness in the labour market, which weighed on the dollar and saw EM currencies scale record highs this week.



&#8220;Expectations are for strong advances in both the headline and core rates, which may raise speculation that the Fed should start normalizing its policy earlier,&#8221; said Charalambos Pissouros, senior market analyst at JFD Group.



&#8220;That said, with the U.S. employment report disappointing on Friday, it seems that Fed officials may not be in a rush to alter their policy any time soon.&#8221;



South Africa&#8217;s rand firmed 0.1%, hovering around a 16-month high against the dollar, as it continued to benefit from relatively higher interest rates, and strong gains in the prices of resources exported by the country.



Turkey&#8217;s lira was the biggest loser in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, falling 0.5%.



Losses in the Russian rouble were limited ahead of two OFZ treasury bond auctions, while the weakening global dollar and a slight revival in oil prices offered some support.



Most Central European currencies were subdued against the euro with Hungary&#8217;s forint and Polish zloty nearly unchanged, while the Czech crown dropped 0.2%.



Israel&#8217;s shekel dropped 0.2% after its worst loss in nearly four months on Tuesday, as hostilities between Israel and Hamas escalated with at least 35 killed in Gaza and five in Israel.



For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2021, see <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh">http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh</a> For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2021, see <a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX">https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX</a>



(Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; editing by Carmel Crimmins)

Trading Board Is Showing A Crash In Stok Exchange Market

FX, stocks drop on inflation anxiety ahead of U.S. data

SYDNEY, May 12 (Reuters) &#8211; An extended sell-off drove Asian shares to their lowest in seven weeks on Wednesday as surging commodity prices and growing inflationary pressure in the United States prompted markets to bet on earlier rate hikes and higher bond yields globally.



Futures pointed to a gloomy start for European and U.S. shares with those of Eurostoxx 50, Germany&#8217;s Dax and London&#8217;s FTSE all down 0.2% each.



E-mini futures for the S&amp;P 500 stumbled 0.4% while futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq were down 0.6%.



MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slumped 1.5% to the lowest since March 26, adding to Tuesday&#8217;s 1.6% loss with all major indices under heavy selling pressure.



Analysts said a combination of inflation fears and some investors cutting their exposure to over-stretched stocks or sectors was behind the recent downturn.



At 678 points, the regional index is not too far from a record high of 745.89 touched in February and is still up 3% this year so far, on top of a 19% jump in 2020 and a near 16% rise in 2019.



Australian stocks slipped 0.9% while South Korea&#8217;s KOSPI index skidded 1.4%. Japan&#8217;s Nikkei reversed early gains to be down 1.5%. China&#8217;s blue-chip share index was little changed.



Taiwan&#8217;s benchmark index plunged 6% from all-time highs to levels seen in February on fears it may raise its COVID-19 alert level in coming days, which would lead to closure of shops dealing in non-essential items as infections rise.



Analysts, however, doubted the broader equities sell-off would extend much further in a world of easy accommodative policy and fiscal largesse.



&#8220;Despite the severity of the moves, we sensed limited panic in our client conversations with many using (the) weakness as an opportunity to buy the dip, particularly in the value orientated areas e.g. banks, energy and insurance,&#8221; JPMorgan analysts wrote in a note.



Overnight on Wall Street, technology stocks were among the biggest losers though the tech-focused Nasdaq reversed the bulk of its early 2% decline over the course of the day. The Dow dropped 1.4% and the S&amp;P 500 fell 0.9%.



The equity rout barely helped drive any safe haven flows into the greenback even as futures pointed to yet another negative open for Wall Street.



&#8220;What is unusual about the last two days is that the equity-market angst did not provide the U.S. dollar with a notable lift,&#8221; said Alvin T. Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets.



Tan said there was no sign of &#8220;risk-off&#8221; among regional currencies either with the high-carry Indian rupees and Indonesia rupiah largely holding their ground.



&#8220;Still, it is not yet obvious if this signifies a new market paradigm. As they say, one swallow does not make a summer,&#8221; Tan added.



All eyes are now on the U.S. consumer price index report to be released by the U.S. Labor Department on Wednesday with market-based measures of inflation expectations having moved higher .



&#8220;Prices are definitely on the increase and this is evident across a wide range of sectors and geographies. What is less clear is the longevity of the increase in prices,&#8221; ANZ analysts wrote in a note.



Treasury yields have remained stuck to a tight range. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasuries drifted lower to 1.6217%, a far cry from the 2% level seen in before the coronavirus pandemic.



The U.S. Federal Reserve expects higher inflation though officials have pointed to transient factors and base effects for the temporary rise.



&#8220;The upshot is the Fed remains far away from achieving its aim of average inflation of 2% per year. The Fed&#8217;s ultra-accommodative monetary policy is part of the reason why we consider the USD downtrend is intact,&#8221; said Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Carol Kong.



The dollar was up 0.2% against the Japanese yen at 108.84 as it meandered in a narrow 107-110 band.



The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was a shade higher at 90.335, after touching a two-month low of 89.979.



The currencies of major natural resource suppliers such as Canada have been buoyant amid rising commodity prices.



The loonie held near a 3-1/2-year high of C$1.2078.



The Australian dollar, another proxy for commodity prices, was not far from a 10-week high of $0.7891 struck on Monday. The Aussie, which is also played as a liquid proxy for risk, did falter in afternoon Asian trading to $0.7790.



Oil prices were higher with U.S. crude rising 13 cents at $65.41 a barrel. Brent crude slipped 10 cents to $68.65 per barrel.



Spot gold was off slightly at $1,829 an ounce.



In cryptocurrencies, ether hit a fresh record high touched on Monday to be at $4,349.44. The value of the second-biggest digital token has surged over 5.5 times so far this year.



(Reporting by Swati Pandey in Sydney; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Kim Coghill)

World map with charts and graphs as symbols of global finance

Inflation anxiety jolts stocks, Asia tumbles to two-month lows

London copper prices hit a record high on Friday as tight supply outlook and hopes for strong demand amid the global economic recovery and from the new energy sectors boosted sentiment.



Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 1.4% at $10,237 a tonne by 0701 GMT, after rising 1.6% earlier to hit an all-time high of $10,253. The contract has leapt 134% since March last year, when demand was hit by the coronavirus pandemic.



The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed as much as 2.7% to 74,950 yuan ($11,603) a tonne, its highest since May 2006, and only 1.6% below its record peak of 76,160 yuan.



&#8220;We are seeing solid volumes being traded at these levels, so we could easily see prices continue higher short-term,&#8221; said commodities broker Anna Stablum of Marex Spectron.



&#8220;The only concern is lack of physical buying in China, but as consumers are getting used to higher prices, they will soon have to channel these higher costs to their end customers.&#8221;



FUNDAMENTALS



* China&#8217;s copper imports in April fell from the previous month, customs data showed, as a rally in prices for the metal to the highest levels in a decade made purchases less appealing.



* LME aluminium rose 2.2% to $2,542 a tonne, zinc climbed 0.8% to $2,967.50 a tonne, while tin dropped 0.5% to $29,980 a tonne and ShFE zinc advanced 2.3% to 22,415 yuan a tonne.



* ShFE aluminium climbed as much as 3.4% to 19,945 yuan a tonne, its highest since January 2010, with traders attributing the price rise to the strong momentum in copper and supply worries as China-Australia spat deepens.



* For the top stories in metals and other news, click or



($1 = 6.4596 yuan)



(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Subhranshu Sahu)

ShawnHempel_AdobeStock_copperbars_012621

LME copper hits all-time high on tight supply, demand hopes

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/49796888428_4ea66872a9_b-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-403687" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/49796888428_4ea66872a9_b-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/49796888428_4ea66872a9_b-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/49796888428_4ea66872a9_b-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/49796888428_4ea66872a9_b.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva Photo: via Flickr</figcaption></figure>



CAIRO, May 10 (Reuters) &#8211; The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board approved on Monday a financing plan to help mobilize resources needed for the fund to cover its share of debt relief to Sudan.



The financing plan relies on a broad effort of IMF member countries, including cash grants and contributions derived from the fund&#8217;s internal resources, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement.



&#8220;This marks a critical step in helping Sudan advance the process of normalizing relations with the international community and make progress towards achieving debt relief under the Heavily-Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative,&#8221; she added.



The IMF said on Friday it had reached a staff-level agreement with Sudan on completion of the second and final review under its staff-monitored programme, in a step towards debt relief.



A strong performance under the year-long IMF economic reform programme is a requirement for Sudan to reach the &#8220;decision point&#8221; for debt relief under the HIPC process. Sudan is expected to reach that point in June.



In April, a French diplomat said France was prepared to grant a bridge loan of up to $1.5 billion to clear Sudan&#8217;s arrears to the IMF and bring the country a step closer to securing relief on much of its debt.



Sudan, whose transitional civilian government is battling a crippling economic crisis, is seeking relief on at least $50 billion in external debt to international financial institutions, official bilateral creditors and commercial creditors.



The African nation has already secured bridge loans from the United States and Britain to clear arrears to the World Bank and African Development Bank. About 85% of the debt is in arrears.



Sudan is emerging from decades of economic sanctions and isolation under former President Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted by the military after months of popular protests in April 2019.



(Reporting by Nadine Awadalla and Nafisa Eltahir; Writing by Nayera Abdallah and Mahmoud Mourad; Editing by Leslie Adler and Richard Chang)

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IMF approves financing plan of debt relief to Sudan

LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) &#8211; Copper raced to a new record peak on Monday as investors worried about missing out on further gains while some industrial users bit the bullet after waiting for lower prices.



Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed to an all-time high of $10,747.50 a tonne after first breaking through a decade-old record on Friday.



It pared gains and advanced 2.9% to $10,720 a tonne in official trading.



&#8220;Momentum is king, it&#8217;s a hot potato right now, and a lot of investors are looking at the market with despair if they&#8217;re not involved and they&#8217;re looking to get involved,&#8221; said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.



Speculators were gunning for the next round number and targeting $11,000, while some physical users who had been waiting for lower prices were throwing in the towel, he added.



&#8220;A buyers&#8217; strike can only work for so long, so at some point you just have to capitulate and get back into the market.&#8221;



Copper also hit a record high on the Shanghai Futures Exchange as the most-traded June copper contract closed up 4.8% to 77,720 yuan ($12,094.62) a tonne.



Bullish investors bet that demand for copper will increase further as the world economy recovers from COVID-19 and as investments into green energy sectors ramp up, while prices were also supported by tight supply in the concentrate market.



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>A group of 15 key copper smelters in China have agreed to cut their purchases of raw material copper concentrate in 2021 by 8.8% year-on-year, state-backed research house Antaike said.</li><li>Base metals also got impetus from the Chinese ferrous market, where benchmark iron ore and steel futures hit all-time highs amid robust demand and supply concerns.</li><li>Other LME metals touched fresh peaks &#8211; aluminium and zinc hit the highest in around three years while lead rose to the strongest since October 2019.</li></ul>



LME aluminium climbed 1.5% to $2,577 a tonne, zinc climbed 1.2% to $3,052.50, lead gained 0.3% to $2,244, tin added 0.3% to $29,912 while nickel edged up 0.1% to $18,099.



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>For the top stories in metals and other news, click or</li></ul>



($1 = 6.4260 yuan) 



(Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi, editing by Ed Osmond and Chizu Nomiyama)

Copper sprints to record high as investors fear missing out

May 10 (Reuters) &#8211; Emerging market currencies hovered around record-high levels on Monday as weak U.S. jobs data kept the dollar under pressure, while South Africa&#8217;s rand rose to a 16-month peak after Moody&#8217;s skipped a sovereign rating review.



MSCI&#8217;s index of emerging market currencies rose 0.3%, staying just below a record high hit on Friday, as rising commodity prices and weakness in the dollar benefited risk-driven assets.



A recent jump in commodity prices has benefited the currencies of major exporters, including the Russian rouble , Mexican peso, Chilean peso and Brazil&#8217;s real.



The dollar sank to a more than two-month low versus major peers on Monday after a disappointing U.S. employment report prompted investors to temper expectations for higher interest rates, with focus now shifting to inflation data this week.



&#8220;Anyone who thought that the Fed&#8217;s employment target might be in touching distance in the foreseeable future has had a dampener on Friday. That means an important argument used by the USD bulls has been shaken,&#8221; said Ulrich Leuchtmann, head of FX research at Commerzbank.



South Africa&#8217;s rand rose 0.4% and led gains across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The currency&#8217;s relatively higher yield has helped it benefit from a low U.S. interest rate regime, and made it the best performing emerging market currency so far this year.



Fears of a credit downgrade for South Africa receded after Moody&#8217;s skipped a rating review for the country on Friday, helping the rand extend gains.



Turkey&#8217;s lira dropped 0.3% as the country&#8217;s unemployment rate inched lower in March to 13.1% from a year ago. Concerns over spiking inflation and weakening government finances have weighed on the lira this year.



Most central European currencies dropped against a stronger euro with Hungary&#8217;s forint, Polish zloty and the Czech crown down between 0.1% and 0.2%.



Poland&#8217;s central bank will start thinking about changing monetary policy in the middle of 2022, governor Adam Glapinski said on Friday, adding that the Monetary Policy Council was not discussing cutting rates.



Polish banks were also awaiting a hearing on Tuesday, which will decide how courts treat thousands of borrowers who took out Swiss franc loans more than a decade ago, only to face ballooning repayments when the zloty weakened.



The MSCI&#8217;s index of EM stocks rose 0.3% to a 10-day high, with most EMEA and Asia bourses gaining on the prospect of accommodative monetary policy across the globe.



For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2021, see <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh">http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh</a> For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2021, see <a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX">https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX</a>



(Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

South African Economy As Inflation Rate Rises For First Time In 2017

South African rand rises; EMFX near record high against weak dollar

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/download-_8_.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-403599" width="838" height="554" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/download-_8_.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/download-_8_-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/download-_8_-768x508.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 838px) 100vw, 838px" /><figcaption>China commodity Photo: via Reuters</figcaption></figure>



LAUNCESTON, Australia, May 10 (Reuters) &#8211; Depending on your viewpoint, China&#8217;s imports of major commodities in April were either a sign of the ongoing strength as the world&#8217;s second-largest economy continues its post-pandemic recovery &#8211; or early evidence of moderating demand.



It all comes down to what basis of comparison is selected: the April figures look soft when compared with March, but solid when compared to April 2020, and resilient when looking at the first four months of this year versus the same period last year.



Crude oil imports illustrate the dilemma of trying to assess the true strength, or otherwise, of China&#8217;s commodities demand.



April imports were 40.36 million tonnes, equivalent to about 9.82 million barrels per day (bpd), according to customs figures released on May 7.



This was down from about 11.7 million bpd in March, representing a decline of 16% that makes the April number look quite weak.



However, the April number was almost exactly the same as the 9.84 million bpd from the same month in 2020. And the first four months of 2021 has seen China&#8217;s oil imports gain 7.2% over the same period last year.



The question is how best can the numbers be reconciled? And another follows on &#8211; what is the importance of temporary factors in driving the month-by-month outcomes?



Perhaps a more accurate way of looking at the April crude oil imports numbers is to lengthen the period of time being used for the comparison.



On this basis, the April outcome on a barrels per day basis was the weakest since June 2019, barring an unusual slump in December 2020.



That December drop happened at the tail end of China&#8217;s run of record-breaking crude imports in the second half of 2020, a period when refiners gorged on cheap oil caused by the hit to global demand from the coronavirus pandemic, and a brief price war between top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia.



Another way of looking at China&#8217;s crude oil imports is to look at what refineries are processing.



So far this year, China&#8217;s refineries have processed about 14.1 million bpd, a figure likely to rise by the end of 2021 as new units are commissioned.



If domestic crude production is assumed to be largely steady around 4 million bpd, this means that China&#8217;s imports will have to average just above 10 million bpd in order to keep its refineries running at current rates.



In other words, imports below 10 million bpd &#8211; like April&#8217;s &#8211; could be seen to be a weak outcome, and those in excess of 11 million bpd would imply that China is adding to stockpiles.



Whether China continues to build stockpiles in the light of higher crude oil prices is an X-factor for crude markets.



In 2020, it&#8217;s estimated that China added about 1.29 million bpd to commercial and strategic inventories, based on calculating the difference between refinery throughput and the total volume of crude available from imports and domestic output.



COPPER SOFT, IRON ORE SUPPLY



As for metals, that sector has been running red-hot with both iron ore and copper reaching record highs, amid a prevailing market narrative of China-led demand and a recovery from the pandemic in the rest of the world.



However, April&#8217;s import figures may have dented that narrative slightly &#8211; China&#8217;s imports of unwrought copper dropped 11.8% to 480,000 tonnes from March&#8217;s 550,000 tonnes.



Similar to oil, the April figure was in line with the same month in 2020. But year-on-year figures for the next few months are likely to be distorted by the impact of the pandemic, which led to lower imports in the first half of the year followed by a strong rebound.



With unwrought copper imports, perhaps a better picture is shown by the fact that they have declined in seven of the last eight months, with only a strong gain in March breaking the trend to lower imports.



This is hardly a picture of strength. While copper&#8217;s story outside of China may well be bullish enough to support the current rally, it would be hard to justify based on China&#8217;s import demand alone.



Iron ore is an interesting case. China&#8217;s imports dropped to 98.57 million tonnes in April, down from March&#8217;s 102.1 million.



However, the most likely explanation for April&#8217;s lower imports was supply constraints, especially in light of disruptions early in the month at ports in top exporter Australia as a cyclone hit the northwest coast.



The spot price of benchmark 62% iron ore for delivery to north China , as assessed by commodity price reporting agency Argus, has been rallying strongly from mid-March onwards and closed on May 7 at an all-time high of $212 a tonne.



It seems apparent that China, which buys about 70% of global seaborne iron ore, is indeed driving the price &#8211; and currently struggling to source enough of the feedstock for its vast steel industry.



Overall, the April commodity import numbers are more mixed than they may first appear, with signs of a loss of momentum in crude oil and copper, while iron ore appears largely a supply issue currently. 



(Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)

download-_8_

China’s commodity imports present increasingly mixed picture: Russell

HANOI, May 10 (Reuters) &#8211; Copper prices touched record highs in both London and Shanghai markets on Monday on hopes for improved demand amid tightening supply.



Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose to an all-time high of $10,747.50 a tonne earlier in the session before easing to $10,694 a tonne, still up 2.7%, at 0711 GMT.



The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed up 4.8% to 77,720 yuan ($12,094.62) a tonne, after scaling a peak of 78,270 yuan earlier.



Sentiment has been boosted following record high LME prices since 2011 hit on Friday.



Bullish investors bet that demand for copper will increase further as the world economy recovers from COVID-19 slumps and as investments into green energy sectors ramp up, while prices were also supported by tight supply in the concentrate market.



&#8220;Prices continue to rise as the world is talking about the global recovery and the need for metals,&#8221; said Malcolm Freeman, a director at UK broker Kingdom Futures, adding that the LME contract &#8220;looks set to attempt $11,000 on a technical basis&#8221;.



However, he noted that industrial players are not buying at this price level.



FUNDAMENTALS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>ShFE aluminium surpassed 20,000 yuan a tonne, rising as much as 3.8% to 20,445 yuan a tonne, its highest since January 2010, while ShFE zinc hit its highest since March 2008 of 23,065 yuan a tonne.</li><li>LME aluminium rose 2% to $2,590.50 a tonne and zinc advanced 1% to $3,045 a tonne.</li><li>A group of 15 key copper smelters in China have agreed to cut their purchases of raw material copper concentrate in 2021 by 8.8% year-on-year, state-backed research house Antaike said, in a bid to boost flagging treatment and refining charges.</li><li>For the top stories in metals and other news, click or</li></ul>



($1 = 6.4260 yuan) 



(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Vinay Dwivedi and Ed Osmond)

Copper hits record high on higher demand hopes, tighter supply

&nbsp;U.S. corn futures fell for the first time in more than a week on Monday, as traders squared positions ahead of a widely watched U.S. government report, though concerns over tight global supplies kept prices around a more than 8-year high.



FUNDAMENTALS



* The most-active corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.8% at $7.26-1/4 a bushel by 0124 GMT, after closing up 1.9% on Friday when prices hit a March 2013 high of $7.34-1/4 a bushel.



* The most active soybean futures fell 0.3% to $15.84-1/2 a bushel, after closing up 1.3% in the previous session when prices hit a October 2012 high of $15.99-1/2 a bushel.



* The most active wheat futures fell 1% to $7.53-1/4 a bushel, after closing up 1.2% in the previous session.



* Market eyes the U.S. Department of Agriculture&#8217;s (USDA) first 2021/22 report.



* The USDA is expected to predict U.S. soybean ending stocks will remain tight at 138 million bushels, according to a Reuters poll of analysts.



* They projected the agency will reduce its 2020/21 stocks estimate to 117 million bushels from 120 million.



* Chinese importers bought 1.36 million tonnes of U.S. corn that will be shipped during the 2021/22 marketing year, which starts in September, according to USDA.



MARKET NEWS



 The dollar languished near a more than two-month low versus major peers, as investors continued to assess the implications for monetary policy of a disappointing U.S. employment report, ahead of inflation data this week.



* Crude prices climbed more than 1%, after a major cyber attack that forced the shutdown of critical fuel supply pipelines in the United States, highlighting the fragility of oil infrastructure.



* Stocks rose amid speculation that interest rates will remain low for an extended period due to the receding risk of a rapid acceleration in inflation, while oil prices jumped after a cyber attack on a U.S. pipeline operator unnerved markets.



 (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

grains

Corn falls nearly 1% ahead of USDA report, supply crunch keep prices near 8-yr peak

TOKYO, May 10 (Reuters) &#8211; Stocks rose on Monday amid speculation that interest rates will remain low due to receding inflationary pressure, while oil and gas prices jumped after a cyber attack on a U.S. pipeline operator unnerved markets.



MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3%, while U.S. stock futures rose 0.14%.



Australian stocks hit their highest in more than a year, boosted by gains in miners, but shares in China fell 0.74%. Japanese shares gained 0.53%.



Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.42%, German DAX futures were up 0.32%, and FTSE futures rose 0.37%, pointing to a strong start to the European session.



U.S. nonfarm payrolls data on Friday showed jobs growth unexpectedly slowed in April, which gave equities a lift but put downward pressure on the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields.



Oil and gasoline futures extended gains after a cyber attack shut down a U.S. pipeline operator that provides nearly half of the U.S. east coast&#8217;s fuel supply.



&#8220;It certainly pushes back the timetable for Fed tapering, perhaps to December from the prior expectations of the Jackson Hole Symposium in late August,&#8221; Chris Weston, head of research at broker Pepperstone in Melbourne, wrote in a memo.



&#8220;A softer payrolls is good for the reflation trade; the dollar weakened across the FX spectrum. We&#8217;ve also seen a solid bid in equity indices and futures are up.&#8221;



On Friday the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&amp;P 500 rose to record closing highs after disappointing data on the U.S. jobs market eased concerns about a spike in consumer prices.



In recent weeks, some investors had been placing bets that a robust U.S. economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic would force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates earlier than the central bank has outlined.



However, the weak nonfarm payrolls report caused a rapid reversal in some of these trades, which rippled through stocks, bonds, and major currencies.



The focus now shifts to U.S. consumer price data due on Wednesday, which will help investors determine whether they need to scale back their inflation expectations even further.



MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of global stock markets hit a record high on expectations that low rates will continue to spur lending and economic growth.



The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies edged up to 90.237 but was still near its weakest since Feb. 25.



The British pound jumped to the highest in more than two months against the greenback, but worries about Scottish independence could curb sterling&#8217;s gains, traders said.



China&#8217;s onshore spot yuan strengthened to 6.4265 per dollar, the highest since Jan. 29.



In the cryptocurrency market, ether rose to a record above $4,000. Bigger rival bitcoin rose to $58,920.



The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes steadied at 1.5931% in Asia on Monday after having plunged to a two-month low of 1.4690% on Friday.



U.S. crude ticked up 0.51% to $65.23 a barrel. Brent crude rose to 0.53% to $68.64 per barrel in Asian trading as the disruption to U.S. supplies rattled energy markets.



Gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 1.43% to $2.1574 a gallon, near a three-year high.



The White House is working closely with top U.S. fuel pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline on Sunday to help it recover from a ransomware attack that forced the company to shut its main fuel lines.



&#8220;The major takeaway is the bad guys are very adept at finding new ways to penetrate infrastructure,&#8221; Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates told Reuters. &#8220;Infrastructure has not developed defences that can offset all the different ways that malware can infect one&#8217;s system.&#8221;



(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

Stock market report. 3d illustration

Stocks cheer prospects for low rates, oil rides pipeline outage higher

May 7 (Reuters) &#8211; Gold prices rose to a 2-1/2-month high on Friday and were on track for their best week in six months, boosted by a weaker dollar and a pullback in Treasury yields as investors cautiously await U.S. non-farm payrolls report due later in the day.



Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,818.73 per ounce by 0652 GMT, after hitting its highest since Feb. 16 earlier in the session. Bullion gained nearly 3% so far this week.



U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,818.80.



&#8220;The weaker dollar and U.S. Treasury yields dropping below 1.6% has helped gold prices to go above $1,800,&#8221; Brian Lan, managing director at dealer GoldSilver Central said.



&#8220;The U.S. jobs data is very important point … if data comes out really good, we can see people being more positive on the economy and it might lead to Federal Reserve increasing the interest rates earlier than expected, which will impact gold.&#8221;



The dollar index slipped to a one-week low against its rival, while benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields hovered close to a two-week low.



Market participants await U.S. monthly jobs report due at 08:30 a.m. EST. Economists expect 978,000 new U.S. jobs for April, according to a Reuters poll.



Data on Thursday showed weekly U.S. jobless claims dropped to a 13-month low.



The economic outlook is brightening, but more improvements are needed before the Fed will start to scale back monetary support, Cleveland Fed Bank President Loretta Mester said.



Spot gold may test a resistance at $1,830 per ounce, a break above could lead to a gain to $1,847, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao..



Elsewhere, palladium rose 0.6% to $2,963.43 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $3,017.18 earlier this week.



Silver eased 0.1% to $27.26 per ounce, though the metal climbed more than 5% this week. Platinum slipped 0.5% to $1,246.79.



(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Gold_bar_3

Gold heads for best week in 6 months on softer dollar, yields

HANOI, May 7 (Reuters) &#8211; London copper prices hit a record high on Friday as tight supply outlook and hopes for strong demand amid the global economic recovery and from the new energy sectors boosted sentiment.



Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 1.4% at $10,237 a tonne by 0701 GMT, after rising 1.6% earlier to hit an all-time high of $10,253. The contract has leapt 134% since March last year, when demand was hit by the coronavirus pandemic.



The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed as much as 2.7% to 74,950 yuan ($11,603) a tonne, its highest since May 2006, and only 1.6% below its record peak of 76,160 yuan.



&#8220;We are seeing solid volumes being traded at these levels, so we could easily see prices continue higher short-term,&#8221; said commodities broker Anna Stablum of Marex Spectron.



&#8220;The only concern is lack of physical buying in China, but as consumers are getting used to higher prices, they will soon have to channel these higher costs to their end customers.&#8221;



FUNDAMENTALS



* China&#8217;s copper imports in April fell from the previous month, customs data showed, as a rally in prices for the metal to the highest levels in a decade made purchases less appealing.



* LME aluminium rose 2.2% to $2,542 a tonne, zinc climbed 0.8% to $2,967.50 a tonne, while tin dropped 0.5% to $29,980 a tonne and ShFE zinc advanced 2.3% to 22,415 yuan a tonne.



* ShFE aluminium climbed as much as 3.4% to 19,945 yuan a tonne, its highest since January 2010, with traders attributing the price rise to the strong momentum in copper and supply worries as China-Australia spat deepens.



($1 = 6.4596 yuan)



(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Subhranshu Sahu)

&nbsp;Somalia said on Thursday it was restoring diplomatic relations with neighbouring Kenya almost six months after severing ties, accusing Nairobi of meddling in politics.



Relations between the countries have also been tense over the ownership of potential oil and gas deposits, some of which lie off the coast of Jubbaland, one of Somalia&#8217;s five semi-autonomous states.



&#8220;Now diplomatic relations are restored,&#8221; deputy information minister Abdirahman Yusuf told a news conference in Mogadishu, saying the Gulf Arab state of Qatar had helped in the process.



Kenya&#8217;s foreign ministry said that it took note of the Somali government&#8217;s announcement.



The Ministry of Foreign Affairs &#8220;looks forward to further normalization of relations by the Somali authorities including with regard to trade, communication, transportation, people-to-people relations and cultural exchanges,&#8221; it said in a statement. It also acknowledged the support of Qatar in particular in its efforts to normalize relations.



Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told Reuters that Doha had agreed with the presidents of both countries that they would work on strengthening bilateral relations and bringing them &#8220;back on track&#8221;.



The minister said his special envoy for counterterrorism and mediation of conflict resolution, Mutlaq Al-Qahtani, had visited both countries.



&#8220;We believe that normalizing the relationship between the two neighbours is very important for political stability, especially in Somalia which is currently going through political turmoil &#8230; and we look forward to the elections there,&#8221; he said.



Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has directed the prime minister to prepare a parliamentary election. A delay led to a political crisis that raised fears al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgents could exploit a security vacuum if state forces turn on each other.



State House in Nairobi tweeted that President Uhuru Kenyatta &#8220;received a special message&#8221; from Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani that was delivered by the foreign minister&#8217;s special envoy.



In November, Somalia expelled Kenya&#8217;s ambassador and recalled its own from Nairobi after accusing Kenya of interfering in the electoral process in Jubbaland.



In February 2019, Kenya recalled its ambassador after Mogadishu decided to auction oil and gas exploration blocks at the centre of their maritime rights dispute. The two countries had revived ties in November the same year.



The two are at present before the World Court to adjudicate the maritime boundary dispute.



 (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Additional reporting by George Obulutsa and Ghaida Ghantous; Writing by Maggie Fick; editing by Bernadette Baum/Mark Heinrich and Grant McCool)

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Inflation anxiety jolts stocks, Asia tumbles to two-month lows

LME copper hits all-time high on tight supply, demand hopes

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Copper sprints to record high as investors fear missing out

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China’s commodity imports present increasingly mixed picture: Russell

Copper hits record high on higher demand hopes, tighter supply

Corn falls nearly 1% ahead of USDA report, supply crunch keep prices near 8-yr peak

Stocks cheer prospects for low rates, oil rides pipeline outage higher

Gold heads for best week in 6 months on softer dollar, yields

LME copper hits all-time high on tight supply, demand hopes

Somalia revives ties with Kenya after nearly six-month break

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Economy

Copper eases as U.S. inflation data sparks liquidity concerns

World Bank signs $500 mln infrastructure project for Congo’s capital

As tobacco declines, Malawi must switch to cannabis – President

FX, stocks drop on inflation anxiety ahead of U.S. data

Inflation anxiety jolts stocks, Asia tumbles to two-month lows

Inflation anxiety jolts stocks, Asia tumbles to two-month lows

LME copper hits all-time high on tight supply, demand hopes

IMF approves financing plan of debt relief to Sudan

Copper sprints to record high as investors fear missing out

South African rand rises; EMFX near record high against weak dollar

China’s commodity imports present increasingly mixed picture: Russell

Copper hits record high on higher demand hopes, tighter supply

Corn falls nearly 1% ahead of USDA report, supply crunch keep prices near 8-yr peak

Stocks cheer prospects for low rates, oil rides pipeline outage higher

Gold heads for best week in 6 months on softer dollar, yields

LME copper hits all-time high on tight supply, demand hopes

Somalia revives ties with Kenya after nearly six-month break

News Tips

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