China congress to potentially weigh on metal prices

ETF Securities China congress to potentially weigh on metal pricesChina congress to potentially weigh on metal prices

ETF Securities Weekly Flows Analysis – China congress to potentially weigh on metal prices

Highlights

  • Precious metals ETPs recorded US$155mn inflows driven by inflows into gold, platinum and the basket ETPs.
  • Inflows into disruptive technology ETPs continue to grow on attractive valuation of the ROBO Global® Robotics and Automation UCITS Index compared to the MSCI World Technology Index.
  • Investors favoured exposure to the Eurozone to specific European countries as Brexit negotiations face a deadlock, increasing the uncertainty over the future relationship between the UK and EU.

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Gold ETPs recorded inflows for the second consecutive week as the Chinese market reopened. Last week saw the price of gold rising to nearly US$1,300/oz after falling 6.3% from its 12-month high in early September. This could be a transitory recovery as the prospect of a rate hike and a stronger US Dollar is likely to weigh further on gold prices in the near term. We see the price of gold at US$1260/oz by year end. China auto sales rose by 3.3% year-over-year to September, benefitting platinum group metals. Platinum and palladium rose respectively 3.3% and 5.6% last week. Investors injected US$12.5mn into platinum ETPs as platinum ended last week at US$55/oz discount to palladium. The price of platinum has also been lagging the price of gold so far this year, rising by 4.8% versus 13.4% for gold year-to-date. We continue to believe in the potential catch-up of platinum in the near term.

Industrial metals saw inflows of US$16.5m as prices reached a 3-year high. The Bloomberg Industrial Metals Index has gained 23% since the beginning of the year, and 2.6% over the past week, reaching the highest level since the end of 2014. Flows into industrial metal ETPs have been choppy since the end of August, with large outflows recorded in September as prices declined 5% from the peak. Prices bounced back again in October despite Chinese markets being closed during the first week of the month. Inflows last week went mainly into the basket ETPs (US$22.8mn) and copper (US$5.9mn) while other industrial metal ETPs recording outflows. The China congress on Wednesday could put downward pressure on metal prices although market participants have been pricing it as a non-event so far.

Robotics and Cyber security ETPs continued to see steady inflows last week with US$23mn in the Robotic ETP and US$2mn in the Cybersecurity ETP. Our model shows that the ROBO Global® Robotics and Automation UCITS Index currently trades at a discount to the MSCI World Technology Index while the ISE Cyber Security® UCITS Index Net Total Return trades at a slightly higher level compared to its historical average, indicating that the Robotic ETP has higher upside potential.

European ETPs saw inflows of US$6.9mn mostly in short ETPs. Investors have increased their short exposure to individual European countries (France, UK and Germany) by US$8.4mn whilst increasing their exposure to the region at the same time with US$2.1mn into long EuroSTOXX ETPs. Investors appear somewhat polarised, the negotiations on the future relationship between the UK and the EU being in a deadlock as no agreement on the divorce bill has been reached.

Video Presentation

Edith Southammakosane, Research Analyst at ETF Securities provides an analysis of last week’s performance, flow and trading activity in commodity exchange traded products and a look at the week ahead.

For more information contact

ETF Securities Research team
ETF Securities (UK) Limited
T +44 (0) 207 448 4336
E info@etfsecurities.com

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No change in the Fed’s dot plot boosts gold prices

No change in the Fed’s dot plot boosts gold prices

ETF Securities Weekly Flows Analysis – No change in the Fed’s dot plot boosts gold prices   

  • Strong inflows into precious metals ETPs (US$99mn) after no change in the Fed’s dot-plot.
  • Inflows into crude oil intensified last week as US stocks drop.
  • Investors took profits on EUR gains after the Dutch elections results.
  •  

No change in the Fed’s dot-plot boost precious metals. US$84.5mn of inflows into gold ETPs last week reversed the prior two weeks of outflows (US$71mn). As expected, the Fed raised interest rates by 25bps. However, the Fed left its so called dot-plot (its own estimate of where interest rates will end up) unchanged with three rate hikes this year, followed by another three in 2018. Its forecasts for growth and inflation were broadly unchanged. The more dovish-than-expected outlook lead the US dollar and yields on 10-yr US Treasuries to fall significantly, supporting gold price. Gold prices rose 1.7% following the Fed’s announcement. We expect the gold price to increase by 5 to 6% by mid-year, but decline toward current levels by year end.

Inflows into crude oil intensified last week as US stocks drop. We saw a second consecutive week of inflows into crude oil ETPs of US$60.5mn (after US$10mn the week before). Oil prices are recovering after US crude oil inventory were slightly reduced last week, for the first time since early January. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has announced willingness to extend production curbs in the second half of the year if global stocks remain above the five-year average.

Investors took profits on long EUR ETPs. We saw a reduction on long positions on EUR ETPs (US$26mn) and an increase in short EUR ETPs (US$23mn) after the euro appreciated 1.6% since the latest ECB meeting on March 9th on the back of expectations that the ECB will adopt a less accommodative policy stance. Meanwhile, the defeat of the far-right Eurosceptic candidate Geert Wilders in the Dutch elections also removed downward pressures on the Euro. We expect the Euro to appreciate by roughly 3% toward mid-year.

Positive economic surprise from China and a weaker US dollar support metal prices. We saw US$51mn of inflows into industrial metals ETPs including US$29mn inflows into copper ETPs after positive economic surprises from China. Both Chinese industrial production and fixed asset investments for February beat expectations, rising 6.3%yoy and 8.9%yoy from 6.0%yoy and 8.3%yoy in January respectively.

This week. March Flash PMIs for the Eurozone, US and Japan will provide investors a gauge for economic activity in the final month of the first quarter. Speeches by Fed Chair, Yellen and dissenting committee voter, Kashkari will be followed for hints of further dovishness.

Video Presentation

Morgane Delledonne, Fixed Income Strategist at ETF Securities provides an analysis of last week’s performance, flow and trading activity in commodity exchange traded products and a look at the week ahead.

For more information contact

ETF Securities Research team ETF Securities (UK) Limited T +44 (0) 207 448 4336 E info@etfsecurities.com

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This communication has been provided by ETF Securities (UK) Limited (”ETFS UK”) which is authorised and regulated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority.

This is a strictly privileged and confidential communication between ETFS UK and its selected client. This communication contains information addressed only to a specific individual and is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person other than the named addressee. This communication (i) is provided for informational purposes only, (ii) should not be construed in any manner as any solicitation or offer to buy or sell any securities or any related financial instruments, and (iii) should not be construed in any manner as a public offer of any securities or any related financial instruments. If you are not the named addressee, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. Please notify the sender immediately if you have mistakenly received this communication. When being made within Italy, this communication is for the exclusive use of the ”qualified investors” and its circulation among the public is prohibited. This document is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, an advertisement or any other step in furtherance of a public offering of shares in the United States or any province or territory thereof. Neither this document nor any copy hereof should be taken, transmitted or distributed (directly or indirectly) into the United States. This document may contain independent market commentary prepared by ETFS UK based on publicly available information. ETFS UK does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or correctness of any information contained herein and any opinions related to product or market activity may change. Any third party data providers used to source the information in this communication make no warranties or representation of any kind relating to such data. Any historical performance included in this document may be based on back testing. Back tested performance is purely hypothetical and is provided in this document solely for informational purposes. Back tested data does not represent actual performance and should not be interpreted as an indication of actual or future performance. Historical performance is not an indication of or a guide to future performance. The information contained in this communication is neither an offer for sale nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. This communication should not be used as the basis for any investment decision. ETFS UK is required by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (”FCA”) to clarify that it is not acting for you in any way in relation to the investment or investment activity to which this communication relates. In particular, ETFS UK will not provide any investment services to you and or advise you on the merits of, or make any recommendation to you in relation to, the terms of any transaction. No representative of ETFS UK is authorised to behave in any way which would lead you to believe otherwise. ETFS UK is not, therefore, responsible for providing you with the protections afforded to its clients and you should seek your own independent legal, investment and tax or other advice as you see fit.

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Any products referenced in this document are generally aimed at sophisticated, professional and institutional investors. Any decision to invest should be based on the information contained in the prospectus (and any supplements thereto) of the relevant product issue. The price of any securities may go up or down and an investor may not get back the amount invested. Securities may valued in currencies other than those in which there are priced and will be affected by exchange rate movements. Investments in the securities which provide a short and/or leveraged exposure are only suitable for sophisticated, professional and institutional investors who understand leveraged and compounded daily returns and are willing to magnify potential losses by comparison to investments which do not incorporate these strategies. Over periods of greater than one day, investments with a short and/or leveraged exposure do not necessarily provide investors with a return equivalent to a return from the unleveraged long or unleveraged short investments multiplied by the relevant leverage factor. Investors should refer to the section entitled ”Risk Factors” in the relevant prospectus for further details of these and other risks associated with an investment in any securities referenced in this communication. If you have any questions please contact ETFS UK at +44 20 7448 4330 or info@etfsecurities.com for more information.