Headlines Mar 10

​

Metals

China’s V-shaped rebound from the pandemic lifted metalsprices across the board.

Gold Steadies Above $1,700 After Biggest Surge in Two Months

Platinum Deficit Seen Shrinking in 2021 as Supply Recovers: WPIC

Zimbabwe’s February Gold Production Drops 17% (YoY) to 1.17 Tons

Copper Rebounds as Strike Threat Intensifies at Chile Mine

Copper Needs $100 Billion to Prevent 2030 Supply Deficit: CRU

Orders for LME Lead Drop by Most in Almost 2 Years on Europe

Lightweight SUVs Are Driving an Aluminum Boom Says Constellium

Iron Ore Sags Again Amid Demand Worries, Mixed Supply Signals

Iron Ore Flows Australian Weekly Exports Climb 17.6 Mln Tons

Port Hedland’s Iron Ore Exports Decline to 37.5 Mln Tons in Feb.

Miners Hit Three-Week Low as as Iron Ore Extends Losing Streak

Mining Bankers Expect More M&A; Battery Metals in Focus for Year

Precious Metal Miners Outperform as Prices Rise on Weaker Dollar

China Producer Prices Jump, Adding to Global Inflation Risks

 

Oil

Iran’s president says his country is ready for full or partial compliance with the nuclear deal if the U.S. does the same

Tanker rates to ship 500k bbls of crude from the U.S. Gulf to Europe have surged 80% in the last month as a result of the Texas cold snap

EIA weekly U.S. inventory data due later

Oil Edges Lower With the Dollar’s Fortunes as Volatility Climbs

WTI Prompt Spread Flirts With Contango; Gasoline

Iran Says Ready for Partial Nuclear Compliance if U.S. Does Same

Qatar Ships First Oil Cargo to UAE Since Gulf Embargo Ended

Tanker Rates to Ship U.S. Oil to Europe Rise 80% After Cold Snap

Exporters Take Unusual Steps to Ease Container Shortage

Asian Oil Stocks Drop as Crude Retreats From Multi-Year High

Adnoc Increases Murban Crude OSP to $1.05/Bbl Premium for April

Sonangol Cuts Mostarda Offer Price to Dated Brent -50c/BBL

Saudi Oil Hawkishness Speeds India Plan to Seek Alternatives

Crude Storage in ARA Rises 5.8%, Genscape Weekly Data Show

API Reports U.S. Crude Stockpiles Rose 12.8M Bbl Last Week

Rising Oil Demand Spurs Restart of Idled Refinery in Philippines

Storm Alert in Place for Russia’s Novorossiysk Port: Transneft

BP Exited Kazakh Oil Projects to Focus on Renewables Strategy

Oil Majors Team Up to Cut $39 Billion Clean-Up Bill in Australia

Maersk, Others Target Singapore Green Ammonia Ship Fuel Supply

Uniper Invests in Swedish Renewable Shipping Fuel Maker

Blowout Danger Halts Drilling at APA-Total Suriname Oil Find

ENI’s Var Energi Announces Oil Discovery Offshore in Norway

Total Bids Brent; Cairn Energy Sells $460M Assets

Shell Sells Urals; Libya Output to Rise by End-2021

 

Events & Synopsis

U.S Futures indicates mixed to positive opening for the markets

President Biden hosts event with the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson, Merck

House will hold final vote on Biden’s stimulus bill after receiving the Senate version Tuesday

 Expected data include mortgage applications and inflation. Bumble and Oracle are among companies reporting earnings

China Appears to Ban ‘Stock Market’ From Social Media Search

Greensill-Apollo Talks Derailed as Tech Partner Becomes Rival

SoftBank-Backed Grab Said to Mull Listing With SPAC as Option

BioNTech Sees Potential to Supply 3 Billion Doses in 2022

Sputnik to Be Made in Europe; BioNTech on Supply

Citi Blocks Firms That Kept Errant Revlon Payout From Debt Deals

U.K. Accuses EU of Harming Britons’ Health as Vaccine Row Grows

Credit Suisse Temporarily Replaces Managers Tied to Frozen Funds

Britain Set for Deals Boom With Firms ‘Very Cheap,’ Says L&G CEO

Rothschild Financing Advisory Fees Rise to Mitigate M&A Dip

Russia to Slow Twitter Access After Dispute Over Protests

Just Eat Takeaway Sees Accelerated Order Growth in 2021

Inditex Sales Fall as Store Closures Outweigh Online Growth

Lego Unveils Record Sales as Toy Bricks Become a Lockdown Winner

Adidas Targets Faster Sales as Pandemic Segues to Normality

Nordea’s $420 Billion Wealth Arm Significantly Steps Up Oil Exit

Deutsche Telekom Shares Soar After Citi Upgrades to Buy

Czech Inflation Stays Above Target as Rate Setters Ponder Hikes

Brexit Border Friction Rises With More Cargoes to U.K. Rejected

China’s Credit Better Than Forecast Despite February Holiday

Japan Day Trader Arrested on Market Manipulation Charges

Taiwan Probe Spurs Fears of China Poaching Top Chip Talent

Ant-Backed Bike-Sharing Firm Files Confidentially for U.S. IPO

Asia Shoppers Snap Up Taiwan Pineapples in Defiance of China Ban

China Summons U.K. Ambassador as Media Row Intensifies

Century-Old Australia Coal Plant Makes Way for Giant Battery

 

9:00am: U.S. House convenes

9:50am: Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris receive the President’s Daily Brief

9:45am: Senate Homeland Security Committee holds business meeting to consider Shalanda Young to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget

11am: Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and public health officials

12:30pm: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Special Assistant to the President & Coordinator for the Southern Border Ambassador Roberta Jacobson

1:30pm: Secretary or State Antony Blinken testifies to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs about the Biden administration’s priorities for U.S. foreign policy

2:00pm: Senate Banking Committee will consider advancing nominations of Gary Gensler to be Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rohit Chopra to be Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection

3pm: Biden hosts an event with the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck

 

Annual general meetings: ADI US, BLBD US, HRC US, JCI US, QCOM US, TEL US

Other events: AVY US, CYBR US, GDS US, LAD US, LHX US, RPD US, VZ US

 

Forex

 A gauge of the dollar’s strength consolidated early gains and Treasury yields crept higher before an auction of 10-year bonds and key inflation data

Asia session advance, and the greenback advanced versus most of its Group-of-10 peers with the euro steady around $1.19

Haven currencies were among the worst G-10 performers while the Norwegian krone and the pound were among the best

The Canadian dollar was little changed before a Bank of Canada policy announcement, where it may provide clues around plans for pulling back stimulus from the nation’s surprisingly robust economy

Australia’s dollar fell to a day low in Asian trading as RBA Governor Philip Lowe said the central bank doesn’t share the market’s expectation for possible rate increases as early as late next year; the Aussie subsequently pared most of its losses in the European session

European Central Bank officials are taking a leaf from former President Mario Draghi’s playbook as they ask if recent market moves amount to “unwarranted tightening” that requires action. That test, deployed by Christine Lagarde’s predecessor in 2014 in the run-up tonegative interest rates and quantitative easing, is relevant now as the euro-zone economy lags behind the global recovery from the pandemic

The rate that the Federal Reserve targets to control monetary policy is defying the skeptics by holding firmly above zero, prompting a rethink from those who thought the central bank might need to step in and tinker with the front end

China’s producer prices rose at the fastest pace in more than two years in February, joining more expensive oil, computer chip shortages and soaring shipping costs as tailwinds for global inflation pressures

The global economic recovery is fueling speculation that central banks will soon be shifting into tightening mode -- nowhere more so than India