Wealthion Macro Bites 5-14
The U.S. and China are narrowing in on a managed trade mechanism for non-sensitive goods this week, with each side identifying $30B of goods to reduce tariffs and trade without crossing national security red lines. The so-called "Board of Trade" was first broached by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in March as a key "deliverable" agreement for this week's summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Gold discounts in India widened to a record of more than $200 an ounce on Wednesday, as a surge in prices after the import duty hike (from 6% to 15%) triggered investor selling in an already weak demand environment. Dealers offered discounts of up to $207 an ounce over official domestic prices on Wednesday, up from the $17 an ounce on Tuesday. The duty hike triggered a sharp rise in local gold prices, prompting some investors to cash in on gains by offloading gold, even at heavy discounts
Trafigura, Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC) and EVelution Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a direct cobalt supply chain between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the US., which is projected to fill 40% of annual U.S. cobalt demand. EGC will supply cobalt hydroxide sourced under its state mandate in the DRC; and EVelution Energy’s facility in Arizona will process materials into battery-grade cobalt sulphate and alloy-grade metal; while Trafigura will manage logistics and marketing.
Uncertainty over Peru’s presidential election is raising concerns over $billions in Peruvian mining investments as leftist candidate Roberto Sanchez moves closer to a June 7 runoff against conservative Keiko Fujimori which could shake Peru’s business-friendly economic model. Consequently, business confidence fell in April to a 2-year low and Peru’s bonds and currency continue to lag regional peers. On Tuesday, hours after electoral authorities confirmed Sanchez was on track for the June runoff, Peru’s public prosecutor filed criminal charges against Sanchez seeking to imprison him for five years and four months for campaign financing violations. Stay tuned…
April U.S. PPI increased 1.4% m/m (largest since March ’22) and 6.0% y/y (steepest since Dec. ’22). The April statistics included a worrying 1.2% m/m increase in services (most in 4 years and accounting for 60% of the monthly increase) driven by a 2.7% surge in margins received by wholesalers and retailers, indicating businesses were passing on rising energy costs.
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