Industry veteran Tom Albanese says the only way is up for metal prices
Mining industry veteran Tom Albanese has said that the worst is over for metal markets which have been ripsawed by excess supply coupled with waning demand.
Albanese, who is chief executive of Vedanta and former boss of Rio Tinto, said on a conference call today: "I believe with what we’ve witnessed early in 2016 will be the trough for the commodity markets."
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"Commodity prices have improved materially in the last couple of months, and investor sentiment has started to turn cautiously positive on the resources sector," Bloomberg reported.
Copper, iron ore and silver have all rallied recently, while Gold and other precious metals have also been buoyed.
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Citigroup has said there's growing evidence that pretty much all commodities have bottomed, and are starting to return to normal levels. But they added much of this will depend on the outlook for China, the world's biggest consumer of raw materials.
However, Goldman Sachs has said that the commodities rally is premature because it's not supported by fundamentals in the physical markets. It pointed to the "temporary" nature of the current rebalancing and a lack of long-term sustainable deficits.