PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Stronger commodity prices boosted advisory firm Deloitte’s Western Australian Index during April, with the market capitalisation of the state’s listed resource companies increasing by 1.7% at the end of the month, to A$131-billion.
Deloitte stated on Friday that the majority of commodities surveyed increased during the month. Crude oil prices have shown signs of recovery, increasing by 16.8%, while iron-ore has rebounded from its ten-year low price of $46.70/t. In addition, bulk metals, lead and zinc have increased 14.6% and 10.6% respectively.
“The recovery of the iron-ore price has brought timely relief to small and mid-tier producers,” said Deloitte clients & markets partner in Western Australia, Tim Richards.
“However, we certainly have not seen the end of price volatility, and it may take longer for excess production to be absorbed by the market, bringing things back into balance.”
Iron-ore rose by 9.4% to close the month at $58/t, while crude oil increased by 16.8% to close at $64.06/bl, its highest price so far for 2015. Lead also showed some resilience, increasing 14.6%, with the rise mainly owing to rising demand in global automobile sales, especially in China, with car batteries making up of 85.0% of global lead consumption. Zinc prices experienced significant gains, posting a 10.6% increase owing to threats of a supply shortage from the imminent closure of the MMG Limited Century zinc mine at Lawn Hill, in Queensland, later this year.