Asian equities began the week on a subdued note as high U.S. Treasury yields tested Wall Street's lofty valuations, keeping the U.S. dollar near multi-month highs. Market Performance : MSCI Asia-Pacific Index dipped 0.2% but remains 16% up for the year. Japan’s Nikkei slid 0.9%, still boasting a 20% annual gain. Chinese blue chips rose 0.3%, with most of their 16% yearly gain achieved after Beijing’s September stimulus promises. South Korea's index edged up 0.3% but is down 9% for the year, weighed by political uncertainties and events like Jeju Air’s recent plane crash. Global Futures : EUROSTOXX 50 futures gained 0.1%. U.S. futures saw slight declines, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures down 0.1%. Economic Drivers and Concerns U.S. Treasury Yields : Yields on 10-year Treasuries are near eight-month highs at 4.631%, up 75 basis points for the year. Rising yields reflect revised expectations of less restrictive monetary policy, raising concerns about potential impacts on corpo...
Three-month zinc futures surged by as much as 4.5% to US$3,284 (RM14,294) per tonne on the LME before settling at US$3,188 per tonne, still reflecting a 1.54% increase. Teck announced that refined zinc production this year could be up to 12% lower than previously anticipated, equating to a 40,000-tonne reduction. While this is small compared to the global market's 14 million tonnes, it has added to growing concerns about supply.
Zinc has been one of the top performers on the LME this year, gaining about 20% following numerous supply disruptions. The backwardation in the zinc market—where spot prices exceed futures—has further underscored the tightness in supply. The spread between cash contracts and three-month futures reached US$60.50 per tonne, the highest in over two years.
Meanwhile, zinc inventories tracked by the LME rose 4.8%, the largest increase in a month, briefly easing the rally. However, broader supply bottlenecks persist across other metals, including copper and aluminum, which also saw price gains due to production issues and rising costs for input materials like alumina.
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