Copper prices reacted to short-term resistance and rallied at the beginning of the year. That said, copper prices need to break lows and form a lower high to change the overall trend. Currently, the trend is up, and prices are expected to continue rising. Technical support levels should act as a price floor, giving buyers […]
Category: Macroeconomics
Is the Face of the Steel Industry Changing?
After weathering a bumpy ride throughout 2022, one of the world’s most traded commodities still isn’t out of the woods just yet. Though steel prices rose across the board over the past few weeks, mills around the world remain shuttered, and demand continues to fluctuate. Zero-COVID and limited energy across places like Europe are just […]
Aluminum MMI: Aluminum Prices Slide From Early-December Peak
Despite the recent short-term bounce, aluminum prices have not quite reversed to the upside following their long decline from March 2022. Ultimately, the rally between November and December was not strong enough to indicate a reversal. Moreover, bearish pressure continues to dominate the market environment at this time. Instead, prices remain largely indecisive. However, the […]
Rare Earths MMI: Surge in China’s COVID Cases Impact Prices
The Rare Earths MMI (Monthly MetalMiner Index) jumped slightly more than in the past six months, rising 4.45%. All month, geopolitical factors, mostly involving China, significantly impacted the index. For instance, production still proved low in the wake of zero-COVID. Then, once zero-COVID restrictions were lifted, the spike in cases across China kept the drag […]
China’s Economy: Don’t Get Your Hopes Up Just Yet
Could China’s economy resume its normal growth trajectory in 2023 after recording one of its lowest growth rates ever in 2022? Recently, the country introduced some more financial stimuli and eased its rather draconian COVID-19 countermeasures. This has left the world waiting for the resurgence of Chinese manufacturing and the economy at large. But will […]
Copper Price Trends: 2022 Review
Looking at 2022 copper price trends, the market was nearly as volatile as metals like nickel and aluminum. Currently, copper prices are attempting to break prior highs but have yet to get there. As copper taps into short-term resistance levels, the possibility of a pullback in price appears more and more likely. Meanwhile, the copper […]
Aluminum Prices and Global Market: a 2022 Review
Aluminum prices reached a high price of almost $4,000 per metric ton on the LME primary 3-month in 2022. However, there were plenty of sales for roughly half that amount, attesting to the wide range of the 2022 index. When March’s rally ended, prices began a decline that resulted in them hitting a yearly low […]
Copper MMI: Copper Prices Bullish as Year’s End Approaches
The Copper Monthly Metals Index (MMI) rose 3.87% from November to December. As with other base metals, copper prices broke out of range to the upside last month as China began to pivot away from zero-COVID. Copper prices rallied to a peak on November 11 before a brief and modest retracement. Shortly after that, prices […]
Automotive MMI: Interest Rates Move Up, Consumer Demand Moves Down
The Automotive MMI (Monthly MetalMiner Index) finally broke its downward trend and traded sideways, inching up by 2.53%. Meanwhile, myriad factors continue to pressure metal prices. The demand for vehicles among consumers remains strong. However, low inventories throughout most of 2022 placed a huge strain on the index. Without parts, the manufacturing of new vehicles […]
Stainless MMI: Reduced Stainless Imports Could Cause Shortages, Bullish Nickel Price
The Stainless Monthly Metals Index (MMI) moved up with a 7.32% rise from November to December. Meanwhile, the nickel price index appeared decidedly bullish throughout the month. While nickel prices modestly retraced from their early month rally, upside price action continued to support the short-term range breakout. Sustained increases should foster further bullish anticipation, which […]