The Rare Earths MMI (Monthly Metals Index) held sideways from January to February, moving up a slight 2.88%. Rare earths prices have proven more volatile in the past year than other metal products like steel. Now, it seems the rare earth market could witness more volatility in 2025. President Trump recently imposed a 10% tariff […]
Category: Commodities
After Global Steel Production Dipped in 2024, What’s Next for the Industry?
According to the World Steel Association, global crude steel production in 2024 declined by about 1% year-on-year. With the data released, organizations now want to determine where steel prices might go for the rest of 2025. On January 24, the Brussels-based association stated that total volumes for the year were just over 1.88 billion metric […]
Aluminum’s Paradox: Prices Hold Strong Despite Global Economic Slump
GDP growth in China and the United States, the world’s two largest aluminum consumers, has slowed for months. Meanwhile, Europe and Japan continued to struggle with stagnant growth for much of 2024. Though still fluctuating within a range, aluminum prices have pushed toward the top in recent weeks. For this reason, many consumers continue to […]
China’s Steel Sector Faces Uncertain Future Amid Economic Challenges
The output of the world’s largest steel industry, China, fell 1.7% last year, a fact that continues to raise many questions about its future direction. This drop continued the downward trend from the 2020 peak of 1.065 billion tons, bringing the 2024 output down to 1.005 billion metric tons. However, even as China’s own steel […]
Trump’s Tariff Talk Sparks Fear: Will US Steel Imports Face the Axe in 2025?
“The import market is slow right now. We have seen a lot of pressure on imports,” one trader said on January 24. They were referring to the anti-dumping investigation on HRC imports from Japan, Egypt, India and Vietnam, which the European Commission started in August. The move followed a request by the European Steel Association, […]
Weak Markets Forces Swiss Steel to Trim Jobs and Revenues
Specialty and stainless longs producer Swiss Steel recently reached an agreement on a plan to reduce the workforce at its production site in Lucerne Canton, in central Switzerland. The move represents another blow to the European steel industry, which continues to struggle. The Lucerne-headquartered company now plans to reduce up to 50 positions at its […]
EU Steel Imports Soar 12% as Importers Race Against Anti-Dumping Duties
Steel imports into the European Union rose by an average of more than 12% year on year in the first ten days of Q1 2025. As of January 13, information from Germany-headquartered Metals Consulting International (MCI) indicated that total steel industry import volumes transacted under Tariff Rate Quotas totaled 2.2 million metric tons. This far […]
Greenland Is Not for Sale—but Could It Become America’s Strategic Partner?
According to media reports, President-elect Trump’s allies in The House of Representatives have proposed a bill dubbed “‘Make Greenland Great Again.” The proposed bill aims to hurry up the negotiation process with Denmark (Greenland is abundant with rare earths), following Trump’s repeated remarks about “buying” the island. If passed, it will pave the way for […]
Global Precious Metals MMI: Gold on Its Way to Record Highs Again?
The Global Precious Metals MMI (Monthly Metals Index) moved sideways from December to January, trending downward by 2.77%. Over the past month, precious metal prices in the U.S. witnessed significant fluctuations, driven by a mix of economic trends and global political developments. The increase primarily stems from speculation amongst investors regarding President Trump’s trade strategies […]
Aluminum Divide: Experts Clash Over EU’s Proposed Sanctions on Russian Metal
For now, the aluminum sector seems divided on the impact that a proposed new ban on Russian aluminum exports by the European Commission may have on the global supply chain. It is an important question, especially as aluminum prices remain locked in a sideways trend. However, price did experience a slight upsurge at the news. […]
