1 Includes net
revenue of 0.16p.
2 Excluding
9,200,000 ordinary shares held in treasury.
3 The Company’s
ongoing charges are calculated as a percentage of average daily net
assets and using the management fee and all other operating
expenses excluding finance costs, direct transaction costs, custody
transaction charges, VAT recovered, taxation and certain other
non-recurring items for the year ended 30 November 2023.
In
addition, the Company’s Manager has also agreed to cap ongoing
charges by rebating a portion of the management fee to the extent
that the Company’s ongoing charges exceed 1.25% of average net
assets.
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Commenting on the
markets, Tom Holl and Mark Hume, representing the Investment
Manager noted:
The
Company’s Net Asset Value (NAV) per share increased by 8.5% during
the month of March (in GBP terms).
Global equity
markets rose in March supported by central bank commentary. The US
Federal Reserve maintained guidance for three interest rate cuts in
2024, which was supportive for equity markets given US jobs data
and CPI indicated higher growth and stickier inflation than
previously forecast. Bond yields continued to react to these data,
moving higher towards month end. Economic survey data in Europe and
China was consistent with economic growth, further supporting
equity market confidence.
Geopolitical risk
remained elevated with continuing attacks on shipping in the Red
Sea, underlining the importance of energy security and resilient
supply chains. Against this backdrop, global equity markets,
represented by the MSCI All Country World Index, had increased by
3.1%.
March
was a positive month for the mining sector, outperforming broader
equity markets. Improvements in economic data from the US and China
helped boost investor sentiment and demand for mining stocks during
the period. China’s manufacturing PMI rose above 50 for the first
time since September 2023, increasing from 49.1 to 50.8. Copper
stood out among industrial metals, delivering strong performance
driven by tight physical markets and rising demand for its use in
electricity grids. The severity of the constraints on copper supply
was highlighted by refining charges in China falling close to zero,
having been ~US$80 six months ago (lower refining charges suggest
refiners are struggling for materials and are cutting charges to be
more competitive as a result). On the other hand, ongoing weakness
in China’s property market started to translate into some softness
in steel demand and iron ore prices came under pressure. The
Chinese government announced plans to reinstate pollution control
measures, which is expected to result in production cuts for highly
polluting industries such as iron ore and cement. For reference,
the prices for iron ore (62% fe) and nickel fell by 13.2% and 6.2%
respectively, whereas zinc rose by 0.5%.
Meanwhile,
precious metals performance was strong during the month due to
concerns around inflation and robust physical demand for gold.
Gold, silver, platinum prices rose by 8.3%, 9.6% and 2.3%
respectively.
Within the energy
sector, sticky inflation and geopolitical risk was supportive for
commodities and commodity equities, where higher oil prices are
beginning to drive positive revisions to consensus energy earnings.
Refining margins remain above pre-covid levels suggesting demand
strength and tightness in supply, whilst Ukraine targeting Russian
refineries was also a contributing factor. M&A activity has
remained a feature in the energy sector in recent months and Exxon
announced it was contesting Chevron’s acquisition of Hess, which is
going to arbitration, contributing to share price volatility. Brent
and WTI oil prices rose by 1.9% and 6.0%, ending the month at
$87/bbl and $84/bbl respectively.
The
US Henry Hub natural gas price fell by 10.3% during the month to
end at $1.76/mmbtu.
Within the energy
transition theme, a number of large clean power utility companies
have held a capital markets days in recent months and during March
NextEra Energy announced increased investment in renewable power
and electricity grids. These capex commitments provide strong
support to the view that renewable energy installations may
continue to see an acceleration over the coming
years.
All
data points in US dollar terms unless otherwise specified.
Commodity price moves sourced from Thomson Reuters
Datastream.
25
April 2024
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Latest
information is available by typing www.blackrock.com/uk/beri on the
internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on
Topic 3 (ICV terminal).
Neither the
contents of the Manager’s website nor the contents of any website
accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager’s website (or any other
website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this
announcement.
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