Copper prices continued to slide this past month, although not enough to trigger a downward trend. As lower lows have yet to form, price direction remains uncertain. Copper prices will likely stay within range until a breakout or breakdown in price occurs. Such an event will likely help drive prices in a more established market […]
Category: Commodities
Construction MMI: Architecture Sector Sees Slight Recovery
Since December 2022, the Construction MMI (Monthly Metals Index) has seen multiple factors pull it up and down. Indeed, steel price hikes, high interest rates, government funding for infrastructure and recession fears have all pummeled the index. Ultimately, the index experienced another sideways movement between April 1 and May 1, though it notably traded down […]
Chinese Exports into Australia Suddenly Shoot Up
March proved a good month for Australia and China. New data shows Australia’s exports to China touched a new high in that month. Though the export surge affected most commodities, the most prominent were coal and iron ore. Political and economic observers studying the relationship between the two nations interpret this as new signs of […]
Aluminum MMI: Aluminum Prices Slide as LME Faces Russian Supply Glut
Aluminum prices continued to slowly edge downward, but remained within an overall sideways trend. After prices fell 1.31% throughout April, they dropped an additional 2.22% during the first week of May. But despite the softness, aluminum prices have not yet formed lower lows, so an established downtrend is still not confirmed at this time. Interested […]
How to Track, Forecast, and Create Sourcing Strategies for Opaque Metals
Some of our favorite metal sourcing challenges involve off-the-beaten-path requests for price intelligence regarding “opaque metals.” This term refers to metals that no known exchange-traded price firm or price reporting agency (e.g. MetalMiner and our competitors) publishes. We like to think MetalMiner continues to add price data across a broad range of “obscure” metals. This […]
Teck Resources Withdraws Plan to Split Metal and Coal Businesses
Canadian mining group Teck Resources recently withdrew its proposal to separate its metals and coal companies into two separate assets. The Vancouver-headquartered company announced its plans not to proceed with a vote to divide the business into two separate companies, Teck Resources and Elk Valley Resources, at its April 26 annual and special shareholders meeting. […]
Automotive MMI: Vehicle Sales Up, Steel Prices Dropping
April saw a welcome boost in sales within the U.S. automobile market. New vehicle inventories are now in healthy shape. However, interest rates are still high, as are new vehicle prices. Moreover, the Automotive MMI index still has several factors working against it. Steel prices, notable HDG traded not only sideways, but completely flat. In […]
Raw Steels MMI: U.S. Steel Prices Slide as Construction Sector Poses Long-Term Risk
The Raw Steels Monthly Metals Index (MMI) moved down from April to May as all its components declined. After sharp upside movement during March, flat rolled steel prices saw their four-month uptrend falter throughout April. Meanwhile, hot rolled coil prices had risen over 82% from the beginning of the early December uptrend until prices peaked […]
Tata Steel Trials Injecting Hydrogen Gas into Blast Furnace to Cut Carbon Emissions
India’s steel giant, Tata Steel, recently announced it had successful injected hydrogen into one of its blast furnaces. Many tout it as the world’s first such experiment by a steelmaker on so vast a scale. The goal of such a process is to potentially reduce carbon dioxide emissions by replacing up to 20% of the […]
Rare Earths MMI: Prices Plummet as Rare Earth Demand Drops
The Rare Earths MMI (Monthly Metals Index) suffered yet another significant drop month-over-month. Overall, the index fell 15.81%. These massive drops in prices are the result of several factors. One of the the biggest culprits is rising supply and falling demand. Prices for rare earth metals have also decreased due to new mining initiatives cropping […]