European minor metals prices up across the board with China commanding increases
Several minor metals prices found substantial support in the week ended Friday February 26 from higher offers from China and limited stocks in Rotterdam.
“Suppliers in China seem to be trying their luck at putting every price up,” a European trader said. “There are not that many fundamental reasons for it, but I think they have taken note of general optimism in the commodity space and talks of a supercycle and are trying to ride the wave a bit.”
“Many Western consumers had grown accustomed to slowly declining prices over the past two or three years, coupled with easy and quick deliveries of purchases, so they had little incentive to carry much stock... some consumers were not prepared for the current situation,” a US based minor metals supplier said.