A spike in Covid cases in China has sparked more lockdowns, muddying the metal price picture further for 2023
There have been a number of dynamics driving metals prices this year. They’ve ranged from the strength of the USD to the war in Ukraine to the still-ongoing energy crisis. However, as with the past two decades, the primary recurring theme remains Chinese demand. As both producer and consumer of most of the world’s major and minor metals, China is the driving force in supply. In short: when China sneezes, the entire metal market catches a cold.
Infection rates spiked following the widespread mixing during the October holiday week. Still, it’s important to remember that this spike reflects a very low base. Even so, hitting 40,000 cases is unprecedented, even when considering the early days of the virus, which broke out in Wuhan. The population is reacting in one of two ways. They’re either cowering in their homes for fear of catching the virus or confined to their homes by official city or state lockdowns.
Either way, the effects are the same: a retail sales slump, production delays, and logistics disruptions. Of course, all of these have a direct impact on metal consumption. Collapse in consumption is causing anxiety among investors and causing prices to soften as 2022 draws to a close. Anecdotally, MetalMiner has received numerous reports of delays in metal production due to lock downs in major industrial centers like Chongqing.
In 2022, with real estate crashing, retail spending tepid, and exports down, the government can ill-afford further contraction. Even before factoring in Beijing’s response to the unrest, the International Monetary Fund expects a mere 3.2% GDP growth for China this year. Of course, protests are not on the level of those seen in 1989 – at least not yet. Nor are they at the level seen in Hong Kong in 2019-2020.
The rest of the world continues to slow and, in the case of Europe, move into recession. External demand will only weaken, so China can’t rely on it to pull its economy along. Therefore, the risks to metal prices as the year draws to a close remain very prominent. And with growing unrest weighing down any recovery, we should expect Chinese growth to slow this year and into the next.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Alterations of the fecal microbiota in relation to acute COVID-19 infection and recovery - Molecular BiomedicinePeople with acute COVID-19 due to SARS-CoV-2 infection experience a range of symptoms, but major factors contributing to severe clinical outcomes remain to be understood. Emerging evidence suggests associations between the gut microbiome and the severity and progression of COVID-19. To better understand the host-microbiota interactions in acute COVID-19, we characterized the intestinal microbiome of patients with active SARS-CoV-2 infection in comparison to recovered patients and uninfected healthy controls. We performed 16S rRNA sequencing of stool samples collected between May 2020 and January 2021 from 20 COVID-19-positive patients, 20 COVID-19-recovered subjects and 20 healthy controls. COVID-19-positive patients had altered microbiome community characteristics compared to the recovered and control subjects, as assessed by both α- and β-diversity differences. In COVID-19-positive patients, we observed depletion of Bacteroidaceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Lachnospiraceae, as well as decreased relative abundances of the genera Faecalibacterium, Adlercreutzia, and the Eubacterium brachy group. The enrichment of Prevotellaceae with COVID-19 infection continued after viral clearance; antibiotic use induced further gut microbiota perturbations in COVID-19-positive patients. In conclusion, we present evidence that acute COVID-19 induces gut microbiota dysbiosis with depletion of particular populations of commensal bacteria, a phenomenon heightened by antibiotic exposure, but the general effects do not persist post-recovery.
Read more »
China Covid: Chinese TV censors shots of maskless World Cup fansAs anti-lockdown protests rock China, state TV tries to hide a world moving on from Covid.
Read more »
No 10 condemns China after police beat and arrest BBC cameramanThe government has condemned China after video footage emerged of police arresting a BBC cameraman who was filming Covid-19 lockdown protests in Shanghai.
Read more »
China Covid protests: UK summons ambassador over journalist arrestThe arrest of a BBC journalist in Shanghai is 'completely unacceptable', a Foreign Office source says.
Read more »
China Covid: Chinese protesters say police seeking them outFollowing the biggest unrest in China since Tiananmen Square in 1989 - what is causing people to come out & protest? Newsnight's Diplomatic Editor MarkUrban01 investigates President Xi's Covid policy and the effect it has had 📺 Full video 👇
Read more »