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 […]
Category: Commodities
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 […]
Steel Manufacturing: Uncertainty Looms as Liberty Steel Ostrava Workers Delay Return
Workers at flats producer Liberty Steel Ostrava in the Czech Republic did not return to work on January 16, despite local media reports stating that workers agreed to resume working on this date. The Daily Denik noted that there were a couple of other “return dates” set for the steel manufacturing plant, including January 3 […]
Copper MMI: Deep Market Contango, Index Moves Sideways
Copper prices saw a 1.90% increase during the final month of the year. By late December, this managed to bring them to their highest level since August, leading to mixed copper price forecasts for 2024. However, prices began to retrace from their 5-month peak by the start of 2024. By mid-January, they remained trapped within […]
Renewables/GOES MMI: U.S. Transformer Shortage Pain Continues into 2024
The Renewables index began 2023 fairly sideways. However, it broke that trend in Q3 and Q4 when it edged downward. Numerous components of the index, including silicon and cobalt, experienced market oversupply. This caused prices to drop and pulled the index down with it. Grain oriented electrical steel also experienced market volatility in Q3 and […]
Global Precious Metals MMI: Index Rises, But Long-Term Forecasts Remain Bearish
The Global Precious Metals MMI (Monthly Metals Index) ended 2023 by breaking out of its sideways trend and rising 3.64%. However, most precious metals still lack strong bullish action. All precious metals retracted in January after experiencing rallies throughout December. Currently, precious metals prices, for the most part, lack the strength needed to break out […]
Aluminum MMI: U.S. Demand Muted, Russian LME Stocks Hit 90%
Following a more than 8% month-over-month increase in December, aluminum prices retraced during the first weeks of January, returning to their sideways trend. Markets appeared to shake off alumina supply jitters that saw prices spike at the end of 2023, as global demand remains muted. Nonetheless, there remains no expert consensus as to the overall […]
India US Trade Leaders Ease Duties, Forge Steel & Aluminum Export Harmony
India US trade is primed to shift. Both countries seem eager to enter a new period of trade harmony, as India’s Ministries of Mines and Steel, along with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), recently set up an in-house system to oversee the export of steel and aluminum products to the […]