APEX Q3 2019: Bank Muscat tops base metals prediction leaderboard

AS Mauskar and N Bhavsar of Bank Muscat led the base metals leaderboard again in the Apex third-quarter 2019 contest, with an accuracy rating of 96.9%, while UBS’ Glyn Lawcock was top of the precious metals table with a rating of 97.6%.

For steel raw materials, Fastmarkets was at the top of the leaderboard at 90.6% accuracy.

Click on the image below to download the full report.

Second on the base metals leaderboard was SP Angel with 96.1% accuracy, followed by UBS’ Glyn Lawcock in third at 96.1%.

Jefferies Chris LaFemina was in fourth place with a score of 95.9% while Emirates’ Edward Bell was in fifth place at 95.7%.

There was reduced uncertainty in forecasts for base metals prices other than tin and nickel from the previous quarter’s record-high spreads. There was a sharp increase especially in nickel – there is currently a 12% spread among collected one-year forecasts. Conversely, consensus was greatest in zinc and lead compared to previous quarters and with the other base metals.

Individual base metals winners
The winner of the third-quarter Fastmarkets’ Apex contest for aluminium was Chris LaFemina of Jefferies with an accuracy rating of 99.89%. CLSA’s Andrew Driscoll took first place for copper with an impressive 100.00% accuracy.

Precious metals winners
In the precious metals table, Commerzbank was second with an accuracy of 97.0% after UBS Glyn Lawcock. TD Securities’ Bart Melek was third at 96.7%.

SP Angel’s J Meyer, S Raevskiy and S Beardsmore placed fourth in Fastmarkets’ third-quarter Apex precious metals contest with an accuracy rating of 96.3%, while INTL FCStone’s Edward Meir came fifth with a rating of 95.3%.

Uncertainty remains high for silver and especially for palladium but there was greater consensus in gold and platinum.

Individual precious metals winners
The winner of the gold price prediction contest was Commerzbank with 98.4% accuracy.

Morningstar was first with its silver prediction for the third quarter at 96.9% accuracy, while SP Angel analysts J Mayer, S Raevskiy and S Beardsmore topped the palladium contest with 99.4% accuracy.

Steel raw materials winners

Fastmarkets was first in the overall steel raw materials leaderboard for the third quarter with 90.6% accuracy, followed by SP Angel’s J Meyer, S Raevskiy and S Beardsmore with 88.1% accuracy.

In third place was ABN Amro’s Casper Burgering at 87.3%, followed by Morningstar in fourth place with 87.2%. Tracy Liao at Citi placed fifth with an accuracy rating of 87.1%.

Commerzbank came in first place in the iron ore leaderboard for the third quarter with 99.9% accuracy. Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari of ANZ placed first in the coking coal predictions with 88.5%.

What to read next
Half a million tonnes of copper is sitting in US warehouses, and the traders who put it there are starting to wonder whether they’ve built a hedge, or a trap.
European automotive procurement faces growing complexity due to regional cost volatility and policy-driven supply chains reshaping material pricing and sourcing strategies. This demands granular, region-specific market intelligence for precise cost modeling and strategic decision-making.
The assessment, which currently follows the UK holiday calendar, will follow the Singapore holiday calendar after the proposed change. There will be no change to the publication timing, and the assessment will continue to be published weekly on Wednesdays, at 7pm Singapore time. The purpose of the adjustment is to align the timing to the […]
JX Advanced Metals, Mitsui Kinzoku, Marubeni and Mitsubishi Materials(MMC) inked a deal to integrate MMC's copper concentrate procurement and related products sales business into Pan Pacific Copper (PPC), marking a significant consolidation of Japan's copper concentrate purchasing sector amid persistent pressure from weak treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs).
The publication of Fastmarkets’ assessments of the nickel min 99.8% full plate premium, in-whs Shanghai, and the nickel min 99.8% full plate premium, cif Shanghai for Tuesday May 26 were delayed because of a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated. The following prices were affected:MB-NI-0143 Nickel min 99.8% full plate premium, in-whs Shanghai, […]
Copper producers, including Atlas Mining, reported higher earnings in the first quarter of 2026 on the back of elevated copper prices, while concentrate output declined at several operations in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and the Philippines due to lower ore grades and disruptions, according to company results reviewed by Fastmarkets.