Metals
On Saturday, the Indian government announced that it would hike export tariffs on iron ore and several steel products, whilst cutting import tariffs on steelmaking raw materials. The announced measures came into effect on Sunday. The latest move is part of a series of changes to taxes on crucial commodities aimed at reining in domestic inflation. For iron ore, the tariff for lumps (Fe above 58%) will rise from 30% to 50%, and all fines will be subjected to a 50% tariff. Pellets, which previously were not subject to a tariff, will now see a 45% export tariff imposed. In the case of steel products, up to eight items, including flat-rolled products, will be subjected to a 15% export tariff.
According to the latest numbers from the International Aluminium Association (IAI), global primary aluminium daily output averaged 186.6kt in April, compared to 185kt in March. Total monthly output for the metal stood at 5.99mt last month, down 2.4% MoM, whilst largely unchanged YoY. Cumulative output over the first four months of the year fell 1.1% YoY to 22.15mt. Output from China declined 1.5% MoM to 3.29mt, whilst cumulative production fell 1.3% YoY to 12.9mt.
The latest CFTC data shows that speculators decreased their bearish bets in COMEX copper marginally by 538 lots over the last reporting week, to leave them with a net short of 17,198 lots as of last Tuesday. In precious metals, net longs in COMEX gold were reduced by 19,322 for the fifth straight week, leaving them with a net long of 54,569 lots.
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