Whether the new Biden administration creates a more insightful or sophisticated approach to trade remains to be seen. But, if nothing else, a new administration is a chance for a reset on policies that have not worked as intended under a previous administration. Aluminum tariff policy The previous administration’s Section 232 tariffs on aluminum of […]
Stuart Burns
Copper price rises as the metal’s bull story continues
Copper seems to be a one-way bet the last six months. The copper price has risen from a low of $4,371 per metric ton in March last year to $8,631 per metric ton Friday on the LME. According to Reuters, Goldman Sachs and Citi are doubling down on their bull calls for the copper market. […]
Investment banks signal possible start of a commodities super cycle
Investment banks love a super cycle. It spurs irrational investment and sucks in unwary investors. Furthermore, it encourages passive funds to up their allocation, even if only by fractions of a percent. But with some $14 trillion invested in US equities alone, even a modest increase in passive investments into ETFs would reap significant rewards […]
Rare earths are the next geopolitical chess game
Although presented as the evil machinations of an enemy state, a recent Financial Times article lays out the rare earths dilemma China faces. Rare earths in the crosshairs Rare earths industry executives made unofficial statements indicating Chinese government officials had asked them how badly companies in the US and Europe, including defense contractors, would be […]
Nickel Continues to Keep Stainless Prices Up, even as LME stocks rise
Stainless steel producers have been caught in a pincer movement over the last year of rising nickel prices but falling demand. It is a counterintuitive situation until you factor in China’s stainless production. Chinese output rose by 4% in the third quarter of last year compared to the rest of the world, which fell by […]
Aluminum industry players accelerate move to lower carbon footprint
Although originally borrowed from a book of the same name, some call Australia the “Lucky Country.” Blessed with resource abundance, a warm climate and decades of near uninterrupted growth, it certainly seems to have it all. But it isn’t alone. For decades, industrialized countries have looked at the Middle East’s oil wealth with some degree […]
Volatility in liquefied natural gas prices the start of more to come, Qatar warns
We could be entering a more inflationary environment for liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices, according to comments by Saad al-Kaabi, Qatari energy minister and chief executive of Qatar Petroleum, as reported by the Financial Times. The problem is the transformational impact US shale producers have had on the energy market. That resulted in a flood […]
Daimler to spin off trucks division, rebrand as Mercedes-Benz
Ola Källenius, boss of Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler, made some interesting comments this week, as reported in a Financial Times article. The automaker is setting an end-of-decade target for Mercedes-Benz’s profits from its electric vehicles to equal that of its internal combustion engines. Källenius fed the investor market with good news from a brand that managed […]
Tin market in a squeeze as supply is hard to find
We have said it before, but we are not great fans of using stock levels as a predictor of price trends or even as a proxy for wider physical market metal availability — however, in the case of the tin market, LME stock position is the surest illustration of a market under extreme duress. Tin […]
Metals prices in 2021 likely to plot more stable course
When discussion of metals markets — indeed, any markets — considers likely price trends, it nearly always starts off looking in the rear-view mirror. Last year’s copper market suggests a bull market driven by vociferous Chinese demand. Imports surged after China relaxed its spring lockdown. Prices rose strongly, up some 48% on the LME from […]
