Month-over-month, the Automotive MMI (Monthly Metals Index) dropped by 3.03%. While the automotive market continued to improve overall, bearish pressure on certain steel prices like hot-dipped galvanized steel, ultimately forced the index down. Experts anticipate this bearish pressure to continue impacting both steel prices and automotive manufacturing in the short term. Despite this, the automotive […]
Category: Inventory Stock Levels
Stainless MMI: Stainless Steel Prices, a Bearish Market, Outokumpu Expects Quarterly Improvement
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 […]
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 […]
Will Electric Cars Benefit or Threaten Europe’s Aluminum Industry?
Are electric cars going to benefit or threaten Europe’s aluminum industry? At first, it might appear a stupid question. However, it is also one that aluminum industry news sources continue to ask. The average European EV contained 283kgs of aluminum in 2022 compared to 169kgs for ICE vehicles. That is according to a study by […]
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 […]
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 […]
Stainless MMI: Stainless Demand Muted, Nickel Price Falling as Market Enters Seasonal High Point
The nickel price remained within a strong downtrend throughout November, hitting its lowest point since April 2021. While prices appeared to stabilize during the first half of December, the nickel market has overwhelmingly proven itself the worst-performing base metal, with a roughly 45% year-to-date drop. Overall, the Stainless Monthly Metals Index (MMI) moved sideways, falling […]
Copper MMI: Possible Deficit Shifts Copper Price Outlook
Still short of a breakout, current copper prices lifted off their October lows during November and have yet to see a major downside correction. Nonetheless, copper prices remain sideways and sit only 1.5% above where they stood at the start of 2023. An increase among all of its components helped the Copper Monthly Metals Index (MMI) […]
Stainless MMI: Stainless Market Bearish, Nickel Prices Prove Worst-Performing Base Metal of 2023
Nickel prices remained within a strong downtrend throughout November, hitting their lowest level since April 2021. While prices appeared to stabilize during the first half of December, the nickel market has overwhelmingly proven itself the worst-performing base metal with a roughly 45% year-to-date drop. Overall, the Stainless Monthly Metals Index (MMI) remained bearish, with a […]
Stainless MMI: Stainless Market, Nickel Price Remain Bearish
Nickel price data continued to decline during the month, dropping a total of 4.06%. While prices remain above their pre-squeeze historical average, they recently fell to their lowest level since October 2021 as they continue to slip below short-term support. All components declined during the month, which saw the Stainless Monthly Metals Index (MMI) fall 4.56% […]