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Highlights
- Metals buoyed by US trade negotiations and weaker dollar
- Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) leads early gains on strong uranium production
- Markets await key inflation data for further direction
Precious and industrial metals enjoyed a lift overnight, supported by positive sentiment around ongoing US negotiations with trading partners and a softer US dollar. Investors kept a close eye on trade discussions, with 17 major partners in talks following the US government's earlier announcement of reciprocal tariffs.
The ANZ China Commodity Index inched up 0.1%, driven by a 0.9% gain in precious metals and a 0.3% rise in industrial metals. Base metals remained steady, reflecting cautious optimism as negotiations continued.
In the commodities space, aluminium hovered near US$2,428 a tonne, copper stayed around US$9,374 a tonne, nickel traded at US$15,545 a tonne, and zinc was seen at US$2,647 a tonne. Gold strengthened to US$3,337 an ounce, buoyed by the weaker dollar, increased investor appetite, and declining US bond yields. Concerns around potentially soft economic data further underpinned the gold rally.
The local market also opened in positive territory, with the S&P/ASX200 rising 37.1 points, or 0.46%, to 8,034.2 by mid-morning. The energy and materials sectors recorded modest gains, advancing 0.15% and 0.13%, respectively. Over the past five days, the energy sector outperformed with a strong 5.54% increase.
Among notable early movers, Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) surged 3.57% to $2.90 after reporting its first quarter of positive free cashflow from its Honeymoon Uranium Project. The company produced 295,819 pounds of drummed uranium, a 116% jump from the previous quarter, and 246,869 pounds of IX production, reflecting a 15% rise. Boss Energy remains on track to achieve its FY25 production target of 850,000 pounds of uranium.
Diversified mining company Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) also showed strength, climbing 3.1% to $2.17, while gold miner Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR) gained 2.84% to trade around $2.
Conversely, some gold players faced downward pressure. Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) dropped 3.31% to $20.18, Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) slipped 1.3% to $3.04, and Capstone Copper (ASX:CSC) edged down 1.18% to $7.55.
Looking ahead, Australian investors are closely monitoring the upcoming release of quarterly Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. Economists anticipate a 0.7% rise in core CPI, potentially bringing annual inflation down from 3.2% to 2.9%, aligning with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target range. A positive reading could add further momentum to the local share market.
The S&P/ASX200 remains a key barometer of Australia's largest 200 listed companies, representing around 80% of the country's equity market by market capitalisation.
