Coal and nickel back, says strategist

Citibank commodities strategist Ivan Szpakowski expects thermal coal demand will increase and prices will rise in 2015, providing a potential shot in the arm for the beleaguered sector, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Szpakowski told the Citibank Investment Conference in Sydney on Tuesday the bank was also a lot more bullish on nickel than the majority of the market and argued the supply of US shale oil shouldn’t be underestimated.

Citi has forecast coal to move to an average of $US75 a tonne for 2015.

Marubeni gives Glencore, Rio tie-up the thumbs down

A partner in Rio Tinto and Glencore’s Australian coal mines has given the prospect of a merger of the mining giants the thumbs down because of concerns about what it would mean for competition, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Marubeni has stakes in the Australian operations of Rio Tinto and Glencore and would be involved if Glencore’s wish to merge coal assets with Rio in NSW came to fruition.

Rio knocked back such an approach this year but Glencore is still circling the Anglo-Australian miner and is keen to arrange a full or partial merger.

Barnett accuses Rio, BHP of acting ‘in concert’ on iron ore

Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett has accused mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto of “acting seemingly in a concert way” by flooding a depressed iron ore market, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Barnett, who oversees a state heavily dependent on iron ore royalties, failed to clarify the comments under questioning in state Parliament after appearing to hint that the miners were colluding.

“If you are selling a product into a market and the price is falling and falling at a very fast rate, the normal commercial reaction would be to cut back on supply into that industry,” Barnett, who holds an economics degree, told state parliament on Tuesday.