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FT Mercati provides subscribers with a dedicated commodities news bulletin to stay up-to-date.
Here is a selection of the latest news:
2/21/2025
According to OPEC in its February monthly report, crude oil demand in the main countries was estimated for 2026 as follows (million barrels/day - annual performance)
USA = 20.56 in 2024 (+0.28%);
Latin America = 7.06 in 2024 (+1.82%);
Europe = 13.59 in 2024 (+0.17%);
Russia = 4.09 in 2024 (+1.24%);
Middle East = 9.06 in 2024 (+1.61%);
China = 17.25 in 2024 (+1.58%);
India = 6.06 in 2024 (+4.67%).
2/21/2025
According to OPEC in its monthly report in February, crude oil demand in the main countries was estimated for 2025 as follows (million barrels/day - annual performance)
USA = 20.51 in 2025 (+0.21%);
Latin America = 6.93 in 2025 (+2.10%);
Europe = 13.56 in 2025 (+0.12%);
Russia = 4.04 in 2025 (+1.35%);
Middle East = 8.92 in 2025 (+1.81%);
China = 16.98 in 2025 (+1.86%);
India = 5.79 in 2025 (+4.31%).
2/21/2025
OPECNA, the news agency of OPEC, announced the OPEC Basket preliminary price
20 febbraio= $ 78.15 /b (down from previous daily value)
(The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) introduced on 16 June 2005, is currently made up of the following: Algeria, Angola, Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia , UAE and Venezuela.
2/21/2025
According to customs data, in December 2024, China's imports of unwrought aluminium alloy reached 105,600 tonnes, down 6.5 % YoY and up 3.6 % MoM. From January to December 2024, cumulative imports totaled 1.2131 million tonnes (+7.1 % YoY).
In December 2024, exports of unwrought aluminium alloy amounted to 21,200 tonnes, up 7.5 % YoY and 5 %MoM. From January to December 2024, cumulative exports reached 242,300 tonnes (+0.3 % YoY).
From the perspective of import sources, in December 2024, the top five countries for China's imports of unwrought aluminium alloy were Malaysia (44,000 tonnes), Thailand (14,300 tonnes), Russia (10,300 tonnes), South Korea (10,200 tonnes), and Indonesia (4,100 tonnes). Among them, Malaysia experienced a significant decline in imports in November due to port congestion. However, as the congestion eased, imports from Malaysia increased by 6,700 tonnes in December, becoming the main driver of the month's import growth, while imports from other countries slightly decreased.
For the whole year of 2024, Malaysia remained the largest source of unwrought aluminium alloy ingot imports, with a total of 521,300 tonnes, and the other major sources were Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, and South Korea.
The top five countries accounted for 79 % of the total, up from 75 % in 2023.
On the export side, Japan remained the largest destination for domestic aluminium alloy ingots in 2024, accounting for 49 %, followed by South Korea and Mexico, with the three countries collectively accounting for about 78 %. T
Overall, driven by increased imports from Malaysia, imports of unwrought aluminium alloy ingots in December 2024 increased slightly MoM. After mid-November, due to the price spread between domestic and overseas markets turning negative and the depreciation of the RMB, imports of ADC12 remained in a loss-making state, and the import window closed. By the end of January, overseas prices for imported ADC12 had pulled back to $2,420-2,440 per tonne, and the immediate losses on imported ADC12 gradually narrowed to near the break-even point, eventually turning into a slight profit. Considering the losses on imports and the impact of the Chinese New Year holiday, aluminium alloy ingot port arrivals in January-February are expected to decline slightly.
Additionally, with the growing overseas aluminium scrap processing industry in recent years, competition for aluminium scrap purchases from overseas has intensified, leading to an expected increase in aluminium scrap prices, which could drive up aluminium alloy ingot prices. Under losses, subsequent import volumes are expected to decline. Furthermore, Chinese secondary aluminium plants established overseas prioritize supplying local downstream enterprises, making it difficult to supplement the domestic market on a large scale. It is also worth noting that the new aluminium scrap import policy explicitly allows the free import of standard-compliant secondary wrought aluminium alloy raw materials. Approximately 40 % of imported aluminium alloy ingots are remelting ingots used by secondary aluminium plants. With the implementation of the new policy, secondary aluminium plants may directly purchase aluminium scrap as raw material, potentially reducing the procurement of remelting ingots.
2/21/2025
European steel heavy plate prices held steady on Wednesday February 19, supported by a resumption steel purchasing, sources told .
Trading in the Italian market started to pick up over the past week, in contrast to the low levels seen through January.
Buyers are booking March-rolling plate and order books are slowly filling up.
Everyone is finally accepting that there is no point postponing plate bookings - prices are not going to drop, a source said.
Buyers were less optimistic, and said that while activity has improved compared with “complete nil” in January, overall demand is not booming.
“Mills have great expectations about safeguards updates to the safeguard measures review and potential quota cuts and therefore expect lower import availability in the second quarter,” one buyer source said.
A review of European safeguard measures is expected to come into force in April, with tougher measures widely expected, which was tempering buying interest in overseas material.
In Northern Europe, meanwhile, trading in the spot market also started to pick up slightly, although the overall traded volumes remained low, sources said.
“There has been some limited restocking and we have seen more activity than in January,” a mill source said.
2/21/2025
Tin premiums in Asia and Europe remained stable in the fortnight ended Tuesday February 18, with participants reporting quiet market conditions.
Spot premiums for tin ingots in Asia were unchanged amid generally thin activity.
Trade and discussions were generally subdued, with most market participants having adopted a wait-and-see approach amid both relatively tight supply and lukewarm demand.
Tin premiums in Europe remained flat during the fortnightly pricing session, with participants reporting steady market conditions.
“dynamism of the business in Europe is not there… It’s very quiet and many customers are reluctant to sign long-term contracts,” a trader told . “The market is stable, there is regular business flows, but spot market activity is slow,” a producer source said.
