Outlook for metals brightening

Metals prices have shown some of the largest gains in the past week, benefitting from some better news on the global economy including stronger manufacturing PMI surveys in China and the euro-zone. Gold prices have been stable despite fading fears of an imminent Greek exit from the single currency and signs that the Fed is ready to raise US interest rates in June. At the other extreme, natural gas prices have reversed their weather-related bounce from the previous week. Oil prices have diverged again, with Brent strengthening and WTI weakening – the latter depressed by record US stocks of crude.