The term battery metals typically refers to lithium, nickel, and cobalt. The name stems from the fact that the three metals are frequently used in the production of all types of modern batteries. Since 2021, these metals have enjoyed a rather lengthy bull run. This has proved profitable for investors and provided some much-needed predictability […]
The MetalMiner Team
Big Trouble in Big China: Lack of Metals Demand
Metal processors and traders throughout China are facing a grim reality today. Thanks to major economic shifts both within the country and without, metals demand has plummeted. Of course, it’s not great news for the world’s biggest metals manufacturer. But what does it mean for the rest of the world? A Hard Few Years with […]
Renewables Monthly Metals Index (MMI) Drops with Steel Prices But GOES Rises
The Renewables Monthly Metals Index (MMI) fell 6.4% with notable drops in steel prices, particularly for plate. Source: MetalMiner Insights Biden’s Plan for a More Renewable US Breaking news in the US Green Energy push. The Biden Administration has released an “action plan” intended to accelerate permitting on new green projects. The goal is to loosen […]
The Future of Steel Supply: The Facts Thus Far
It’s first-year economics: everything comes down to supply and demand. Historically, the push and pull between these two massive market forces are cyclical, and that includes steel. When you have more demand than supply, prices go up. Eventually, the prices get so high that people stop buying. After a while, the steel supply builds up, […]
Russia’s ‘ruble ransom’ — how oil demands might affect aluminum prices, steel prices
Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin made some tough talk about forcing “unfriendly countries” to pay for Russian gas in rubles, leading us to wonder how that might impact aluminum prices and steel prices. There are fears that Russia’s economic isolation will begin to affect aluminum prices or steel prices. Those impacts would further burden manufacturers […]
MetalMiner Q&A: LME nickel turmoil, volume volatility and what’s next for the exchanges
The MetalMiner team has broken down the significant fluctuations in the LME nickel contract this month. But now that a few weeks have passed since the LME first suspended trading, it’s time to take a look at some other interesting trends at play on the LME and elsewhere. In this question-and-answer session, MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns […]
LME suspends nickel trading due to short squeeze
The London Metal Exchange (LME) halted nickel trading effective 8:15 a.m. London time today. The contract will remain suspended for the remainder of today. According to the LME, the price movement in Asia overnight combined with the situation between Russia and Ukraine led to the decision to halt trading. Furthermore, the LME said it would […]
The MetalMiner take on initial sanctions imposed by the West on Russia
Although the West issued a new round of sanctions late on Sunday, it remains unclear what effect they will have. The new sanctions, including the prohibition of Russia flying over European airspace, as well as the funding of arms for Ukraine, came on Sunday. Nobody at MetalMiner believed the earlier sanctions through Friday would put […]
Green energy boom now biting all of Europe — and the USA, too
In 2018, a pair of us on the MetalMiner team attended the “premier aluminum conference in Europe” — Aluminum 2018 Dusseldorf. Although Dusseldorf felt like a charming Ohio blue collar town with good beer, one of us left the event with a deep cough (obviously pre-Covid). Oddly enough, the weather alert app kept displaying daily […]
January 2021 Monthly Metal Outlook report is out
We have officially turned the page on 2020. Buyers should make sure to equip themselves with the knowledge to source smartly after what was a volatile 2020. In that vein, the MetalMiner Monthly Metal Outlook (MMO) report for the month of January is now available. In addition, readers will find news, analysis and much more […]
