The downtrend for nickel prices showed signs of exhaustion, with significant potential to impact stainless steel prices. Nickel moved sideways throughout January with a modest 1.60% decline. While directional momentum remained slow, prices continued to edge lower during the first weeks of February and now sit at their lowest level since April 2021. Overall, the […]
Category: Commodities
Aluminum Market Projections for 2024: Stability Amidst Economic Uncertainty?
Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Hydro, a green aluminum producer with multiple plants and locations around the globe. Mike Stier, Hydro’s Vice President of Finance, and Duncan Pitchford, President of Hydro Aluminum Metals in the U.S. (whom I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing before), sat down to discuss Hydro’s views on aluminum performance […]
Construction MMI: U.S. Construction Industry Enters 2024 Lacking Skilled Craftsman
The Construction MMI (Monthly Metals Index) moved in a relatively sideways trend, only budging up 0.65%. Steel prices continuing to flatten out, along with bar fuel surcharges dipping in price, kept the index from breaking out of the sideways movement we’ve witnessed since December. As the index enters 2024, U.S. construction news continues to focus […]
Copper MMI: Copper Prices Remain Sideways as China Uncertainty Looms
Copper prices today remain trapped in a sideways range. Prices lack enough bearish or bullish momentum to establish a strong trend in either direction. Prices declined during the first weeks of January, falling to their lowest level since November. However, they rebounded in the second half of the month. This brought them a mere 0.52% […]
Steel Production Declines in December 2023: Factors Impacting the Global Steel Market
Data from the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) released on January 25 indicates that global crude steel production remained largely unchanged year on year. Indeed, steel market analysis says poured liquid steel totaled 1.88 billion metric tons last year, which is similar to the volume poured in 2022. The association also stated that crude steel production […]
Automotive MMI: Hot-Dipped Galvanized Prices Flatten, EV Market Moving Too Quickly?
All components of the Automotive MMI moved sideways or down month-on-month. Moreover, January saw prices flatten out across the steel market, causing hot-dipped galvanized steel prices to trend close to support zones. Meanwhile, China’s wavering economy continues to prove a concern for global markets because the country is such a large steel demand driver. Many […]
Ironing Out the Future of the Battery Market: How Rusty Batteries Could Power Our Lives
In an electrifying twist of fate, the global battery market is buzzing with excitement over a technology designed to make things rust on purpose. We’re talking about iron-air batteries. Leading this “rusty revolution” is Form Energy, a company that clearly didn’t get the memo about rust being a bad thing. Form’s team recently completed work […]
January Market Roller Coaster Ride from Euphoria to Bearish Pressure
January 2024 unfolded as a dynamic and volatile month for financial markets and commodity prices. The early weeks of January saw euphoria among investors fueled with hopes of receding inflation concerns and a dovish fed. However, a hawkish central bank and geopolitical tensions soon dampened that optimism. Meanwhile, falling oil prices and tightened investments drove […]
Copper Demand: Australian Exports to China Surge to Record High, Signaling Thaw in Relations
The frosty relationship between China and Australia continues to thaw, as evidenced in the bi-lateral trade indices indicate. Now, thanks to China’s growing copper demand, the world possesses one more indicator. According to recently released data, Australia exported 27,500 metric tons of copper ores and concentrates to China in November last year. At U.S. $44.5 […]
Is China’s Surge in Crude Oil, Coal, and Iron Ore Imports Really a Sign of Economic Strength?
News coming out of China indicates the country set new records in 2023 for the import of crude oil, coal, and iron ore. The revelation caught many by surprise, but analysts caution that this may not really signify a robust demand for these essential materials. Nor does it indicate that there has been any reversal […]
