In this week’s Market Movers Asia with Aliana Yeong:
- Chinese buyers' return to stir Asian thermal coal market
- Property sector woes weigh on China’s steel
- Spotlight on metal markets post Lunar New Year holidays
- All eyes on OPEC+ cuts
This week, the spotlight will be on China’s commodities demand as the markets resume following the Lunar New Year holidays.
Trading activity in the thermal coal market, is likely to pick up as Chinese buyers return from their break.
Demand from Indian buyers is likely to be tepid. However, tight supply from Indonesia and Australia is expected to keep prices high.
LNG demand is likely to rebound in the coming days as trading activity in North Asia resumes after a pause during the New Year festivities.
LNG prices have been at multi-month lows recently, which also triggered buying interest from across the region.
In metals, industry giants BHP, Fortescue, and Rio Tinto are expected to report results this week, and are hopeful that China’s economy will improve and support commodity prices despite challenges in the steel and property sectors.
China’s steel production is expected to continue outpacing demand, indicating a weak outlook for steel consumption amid the country’s property sector debt woes.
Chinese lithium prices will also be keenly watched after being subdued due to weak buying.
In oil, traders and refiners are watching whether OPEC+ will return more than 2 million b/d of crude oil into the market once the group's voluntary production cuts expire at the end of March.
The heads of OPEC and the International Energy Agency meet for a symposium in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss the contrasting views of both organizations on the energy outlook.
I’m Aliana Yeong, thank you for kicking off your Monday with S&P Global Commodity Insights.