From Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance, October 8:
The world’s metal traders are enduring one of their toughest periods in years, even as an international race for minerals thrusts the industry into the geopolitical spotlight like never before.
From top copper trader Trafigura Group to the largest metals-specialist hedge fund, a who’s-who of powerful and high-profile names have lost money, cut staff or suffered other setbacks in the past year.
It’s a disconnect that’s likely to dominate conversations as thousands of traders, financiers and investors descend on London for the annual LME Week gathering that kicks off Sunday: on the one hand, governments around the world are growing increasingly concerned about future availability of metals like copper, nickel and cobalt that will be critical to the energy transition. Yet for the past year, weak industrial demand has kept prices under pressure, leaving traders struggling to eke out profits from sluggish metals markets.
“It’s dawning on people they’ve talked themselves into a supercycle that isn’t happening,” said Concord Resources Chief Executive Officer Mark Hansen, whose company reported its first-ever loss last year. “The environment is the most complicated and tricky for metals trading that I’ve ever seen.”....
....MUCH MORE
Our most recent mention of the big ($131 billion 1st-half 2023 revenue) Singapore-based trader, September 20:
"LME copper stocks rise to two-year high as demand falters"
This would tend to point toward Trafigura attempting to manipulate at minimum, perceptions, and possibly manipulate markets. More after the jump....
