News

COPPER and aluminum ticked higher — after suffering major declines on Thursday — in response efforts by the US and Israel to ease concerns about the deepening conflict in the Middle East.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces would no longer target energy infrastructure, while President Donald Trump vowed not to deploy ground troops against Iran. The comments came after a torrid few hours for commodities on Thursday as oil prices surged, fears of a global economic slowdown increased and metals slid sharply lower.

The war in the Persian Gulf has roiled metals markets by threatening a wave of supply disruptions, especially in a global aluminum market that gets about a 10th of output from the region. But broader fears about demand have dominated trading this week.

Higher prices for oil and gas will hurt manufacturing and economic activity worldwide, while fueling inflation that forces central banks to take a more hawkish stance on interest rates. This means traders are now closely monitoring crude prices, which eased on Friday. 

The drop in copper prices this month is aiding Chinese demand, however, as fabricators returning after the Lunar New Year holidays buy the metal. Inventories in Shanghai and Guangdong have fallen about 8% from a six-year high on March 9, according to Shanghai Metals Market. 

Copper’s drop on the London Metal Exchange has outpaced declines on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, opening a window for traders to import the metal into China, said Levi Xiao, a trader at Wooray Commodities Pte. Ltd. Imports are expected to pick up for copper arriving in April and May, he said. 

Copper rose 0.8% to $12,240 a ton on the LME as of 7:57 a.m. in London. Aluminum gained 0.8% to $3,277.50. They were both down more than 4% for the week, on track for their biggest weekly declines in almost a year. Iron ore climbed 1.1% to $108.30 a ton in Singapore. –BLOOMBERG

The post Copper and aluminum rise as US, Israel try to reassure on war appeared first on The Malaysian Reserve.

CHINA’S ravenous appetite for silver lifted overseas purchases to an eight-year high at the start of 2026, as importers fed a surge in industrial and investment demand.

The world’s biggest buyer pulled in over 790 tons in the first two months, including nearly 470 tons in February, the highest ever for that month, according to Chinese customs data on Friday. Strong demand has pushed local prices well above international benchmarks, whittling down already-low exchange stockpiles and hoovering up metal from abroad.

Silver prices have never had such a volatile start to a year, soaring about 70% on a wave of speculative buying from China and elsewhere, before abruptly giving up their gains at the end of January. The strong import figures suggest physical consumption in China has been sustained despite shifts in trading flows. 

Demand has come from both retail investors piling into silver bars, an alternative to increasingly pricey gold, and solar manufacturers front-loading production ahead of the removal of export tax rebates on April 1. The solar industry consumes about a fifth of annual supply, and is overwhelmingly located in China.

Demand for physical bars is very strong, and solar cell manufacturers “are going gangbusters,” said Rhona O’Connell, head of market analysis for EMEA and Asia at StoneX Group Inc. “At the same time, inventories in Chinese exchanges have been falling lower and lower, which has its own psychological effect.”

Much of the metal has flowed through Hong Kong, a gateway for precious metals headed to the mainland, as traders sought to profit from an attractive arbitrage opportunity. In the first two months, prices in the territory for the large silver bars traded by banks have attracted a premium of as much as $8 an ounce, when they usually trade at a discount to the benchmark in London, said Stanley Cheung, managing director of AC Precious Metals Refinery Ltd. 

China’s lofty imports have yet to disrupt the London market, thanks to a record inflow of silver into the global trading hub following an historic squeeze last year. Less silver held in exchange-traded funds around the world, which have dropped this year by more than 1,900 tons, has also freed up more metal.

“The London market is behaving very well despite this strong demand for silver in China,” said Daniel Ghali, senior commodity strategist at TD Securities Inc. “For the first time in more than a year, the market can face this scale of demand without resulting in significant price dislocations or disruptions.” 

Looser supply in London has allowed the cost of borrowing silver to ease, although longer-dated leases are still more expensive, due to the volatility in prices and as a precaution against another squeeze.

Visible inventories tracked by major exchanges from New York to Shanghai are either falling or sitting well below their long-term averages, suggesting metal remains scarce in the broader system. And the market has reason to be worried. 

“China is one of the world’s most significant markets for both industrial consumption and silver investment,” said Simone Knobloch, chief operating officer of major Swiss refinery Valcambi SA. “The feedback we receive from the market indicates strong interest in physical products.” 

The developing appetite for silver as a cheaper replacement for gold has made investment bars — ranging from 20 grams to one kilogram — common in the Shuibei market in Shenzhen, the center of China’s retail bullion trade. 

“Silver has been a hit among retail investors and sellers,” said Song Jiangzhen, a researcher at Guangdong Southern Gold Market Academy.  

He said there’s been a change in the mindset of consumers, who increasingly view gold as inaccessible. The white metal is currently trading at about $70 an ounce, while gold has fluctuated around $5,000 an ounce this year after a barnstorming rally.

Bullion dealers welcome the shift, said Song. Cheaper bars mean less pressure on financing. Many dealers have increased their silver stockpiles, tripling total inventory in Shuibei to around 300 tons in recent months, according to his estimate. 

For now, though, markets are breathing a little easier. The Chinese premium on silver has softened and solar demand has slowed as the rebate deadline nears, said Yuan Zheng, an analyst at the Shanghai-based trading arm of Henan Jinli Gold and Lead Group Co. “We’ve moved into a situation of more supply than demand in the near term.” 

That’s showing up in Shenzhen, where the silver bars on display are finding fewer takers. But it’s unlikely to be the end of the story.

“All it takes is just another surge in prices,” said Song. “Retail investors tend to follow rising trends rather than buy dips.”  –BLOOMBERG

The post China pulls silver from global markets to meet surging demand appeared first on The Malaysian Reserve.

AT LEAST a dozen large drugmakers are set to roll out copies of Novo Nordisk A/S’s blockbuster weight-loss drugs in India, crashing prices as soon as the patent expires Friday.

Natco Pharma Ltd. plans to sell an injection for semaglutide —  the active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy — with prices starting from 1,290 rupees ($14) a month, on the first day the generics are allowed. The pen device is expected to launch by April and cost about 4,500 rupees a month, it said in a filing. 

By comparison, Novo’s Wegovy pen starts at about 10,480 rupees ($113) in India and about $199 in the US under the self-pay model. Other companies are likely to price the starting dose between 3,000 rupees ($32) and 5,000 rupees a month, according to people familiar with the matter who did not want to be named as the information is competitive.

While Canada was the first to lose patent protection for semaglutide in January, the Canadian health regulator hasn’t approved any generics so far effectively making India the first major market to see a flood of copycat versions. The ensuing price war will be closely watched as the Danish drugmaker faces patent expiries in key markets including China, Brazil and Turkey.

Bloomberg News parsed company filings and earnings call transcripts to identify at least 12 large drugmakers — Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. and Lupin Ltd. among others — that have plans to sell generic semaglutide soon after patent expiry. But the true scale of competition will be much higher. 

About 42 drug manufacturers, including smaller ones, are expected to launch products under more than 50 brand names this year, said Sheetal Sapale, a researcher at market data firm Pharmarack.

‘Case Study’

India is “an important case-study for the future” loss of exclusivity on this molecule, Jefferies analysts led by James Vane-Tempest wrote in a Feb. 12 note. The brokerage estimates India’s weight-loss market at about $500 million, which “could rise to $1 billion with the right pricing, adoption and government incentives.”

Generic drugmakers are also experimenting with a range of delivery formats, including single-use pre-filled syringes, single-shot pen injectors, vials, and reusable pens with adjustable dosing, the people familiar with the matter said.

These are aimed at giving patients more flexibility, reducing the cost burden and making adoption of these anti-obesity therapies easier. Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly & Co.’s Mounjaro in India currently come in a pre-filled pen with four shots.

The tweaked delivery methods can also build brand loyalty. If a patient gets comfortable using a particular device, they usually wouldn’t switch, Pharmarack’s Sapale said.

“The reputation of the company in this therapy category as well as the delivery system will be the differentiators now” since the underlying semaglutide molecule is the same, she added.

Indian drugmakers have also started forging alliances. Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. this week announced a licensing partnership with Lupin and Torrent Pharma Ltd., while Eris Lifesciences Ltd. has tied up with Natco Pharma for the marketing of the drug.  

The generic drugmakers will also focus more on smaller cities where innovator firms have not established a widespread presence, Sapale said. “There will be a lot of noise” in the market as firms fight for share, she added. –BLOOMBERG

The post Ozempic copies to cost US$14 in India as generic GLP-1 era starts appeared first on The Malaysian Reserve.