Western Australian mining stocks rising against general market trends was a result of an increasingly stable market, Deloitte managing partner Keith Jones told MINING DAILY.
“There was less volatility in January across the financial markets and we benefited from the period of respite,” he said.
“Leading up to Christmas we had very unsettled markets, but that actually started to slow a bit in December and January was a breather in the market while people decided where it could go.”
According to Jones, rather than being a deviation, much of the overall settling of the WA mining market will continue.
“Selected parts of the markets now will stabilise,” he said.
“I don’t think it was an aberration.”
People in the mining sector have now had more time to take stock of the situation and think about how best to approach it, Jones said.
“I think a lot of the panic has gone out of the markets and organisations are now starting to sit back and reflect on how they go forward,” he said.
“They are all now very conscious of where they stand in the market.’
Despite the positive signs at present, Jones stresses mining companies will remain dependent on overseas demand heading into the future.
“The Western Australian mining sector remains dependant upon offshore demand for commodities,” he said.
“We are still going to remain to some extent a hostage to the commodity markets and the demand out of China.”
But because companies now have a better understanding of the situation the market will be in a better position to cope, Jones said.
“I think we may still continue to see some volatility, but there will now be more stability in the underlying activity.”