The London Metal Exchange’s (LME) nickel price shot up by more than $1,000/mt on Friday Feb 25, a rise that one analyst directly connected to Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. The official, three-month nickel bid price reached $25,625 per metric ton on Feb. 24, The price increased 4.3% on the day from $24,575/mt, data from the […]
Category: Macroeconomics
Russia sends in the troops, impacting metals markets
So, after weeks of will he, won’t he, Russian President Vladimir Putin finally ordered troops into two regions of eastern Ukraine. After recognizing Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states earlier this week, Putin made an emotional and rambling televised address to the Russian people. Where this will lead no one knows. But it seems unlikely […]
Green energy boom now biting all of Europe — and the USA, too
In 2018, a pair of us on the MetalMiner team attended the “premier aluminum conference in Europe” — Aluminum 2018 Dusseldorf. Although Dusseldorf felt like a charming Ohio blue collar town with good beer, one of us left the event with a deep cough (obviously pre-Covid). Oddly enough, the weather alert app kept displaying daily […]
Global Precious Metals MMI: monthly index rises on strong palladium prices
The Global Precious Monthly Metals Index (MMI) rose by 6.8% for this month’s reading. This represents the second month in a row of precious metals inswz increases. Last month the index increased by 4.1%. Palladium, and to a lesser extent, platinum drove the index higher. Most of the other precious metals held flat or fell. The […]
Construction MMI: Sector remains strong
In The Construction Monthly Metals Index (MMI) increased by 0.6% month over month. US construction spending rose in 2021 U.S. construction spending reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,639.9 billion in December, the Census Bureau reported. The December rate marked a 0.2% increase from the revised rate November. Furthermore, the December figure jumped by […]
What impact could inflation expectations have on metal prices?
You cannot turn on the TV or read a news feed without hearing dire warnings of surging inflation. The U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 6.8% year on year in November, the fastest pace since 1982. Meanwhile, while Eurozone inflation climbed to a record 4.9%. More than three-quarters of countries analyzed by Pew Research had higher […]
Construction MMI: YTD construction spending up 7.5%; Nucor to build new rebar micro mill
The Construction Monthly Metals Index (MMI) fell by 6.1% for this month’s reading, as U.S. construction spending rose by 7.5% year over year in the first 10 months of the year. MetalMiner is hosting its final webinar of the calendar year tomorrow — Wednesday, Dec. 8 — during which the MetalMiner team will overview price predictions […]
This Morning in Metals: US GDP up 2.1% in Q3, BEA reports in second estimate
This morning in metals news: U.S. GDP increased by 2.1% in Q3 2021, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported in its latest estimate; new home sales increased in October; and, lastly, average U.S. gasoline prices are higher this Thanksgiving holiday than any since 2012. Each month, MetalMiner hosts a webinar on a specific metals topic. […]
Inflation and tariffs — what’s the connection?
Inflation is currently a hot topic on Wall Street and in Washington. For many, it’s a much more immediate issue than other major issues, like the impact of climate change. A recent Financial Times post in the paper’s Trade Secrets newsletter posed a somewhat controversial but not inappropriate question: could removing tariffs be the answer […]
The ‘B’ Word, Part 2: Durability, portability and uniformity of Bitcoin
In the first part of this series, we discussed monetary inflation, the history of gold as a store of value and how digital assets, like Bitcoin, may be the next big thing in the technology of money. The narrative of gold being the premier store-of-value asset has captivated like-minded investors for centuries. In this follow-up […]
