A Look Back at a Turbulent March in the World of Commodities

Pavel Ignatov/Adobe Stock

Section 232 aside, given the market turbulence this month MetalMiner took a look back at commodities and other base metals to reassess trends.
Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook
Commodities have traded lower in March, slowing down from their previous pace.
Crude oil prices (one of the most important price indicators in the commodities basket) increased this month, which may still lead to a higher CRB index by the end of the month.
CRB index. Source: MetalMiner analysis of Stockcharts

However, the long-term uptrend for commodities remains in place. Next month, buying organizations can expect to see price increases.
Meanwhile, this month base metals have traded lower. Contrary to rising U.S. steel prices, base metal prices began the month with price declines. Price retracement occurs as a normal trading pattern.
In a bullish market, buying organizations may want to identify the lows to reduce price risk.
DBB index. Source: MetalMiner analysis of Stockcharts

As with commodities, the base metals long-term uptrend remains in place.
While the CRB and DBB indexes have both traded lower in March, domestic steel prices skyrocketed.
With the recent tariffs imposed on steel products, steel prices remain at more than four year-highs for plate, and at 2011 levels for all the other steel forms (HRC, CRC and HDG).
MetalMiner’s Annual Outlook provides 2018 buying strategies for carbon steel
To learn more about how Section 232 will impact both the aluminum and steel industry, check out our Section 232 special coverage.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top