The global and Indian metals markets have undergone unprecedented metamorphosis over the last two years, what with prices first rising to record levels in the first half of 2008 followed by a huge collapse in the wake of the global financial market crisis and slowdown in growth. In the Indian context, with strong GDP growth and expanding expenditure on infrastructure, housing and manufacturing facilities, industrial metals and base metals, consumption in the country is clearly set to rise for several years into the future. With the Indian market gradually integrating with the global market, it is necessary for market participants — producers, consumers, traders — to hold a worldview of market fundamentals of demand and supply, in addition of course to the Indian market conditions. The mover and shaker of the metals market, China, had a decisive role to play in impacting the metals sector. There is also belief that the collapse of financial market actually led to panic sales which in turn resulted in metals prices overshooting to the downside. Once confidence slowly began to return in 2009, the market started to look up and production cuts turned into supply bottleneck, with concomitant effect on market prices. read more

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