Following a 4.7% month-over-month decline during January, aluminum prices fell an additional 1.9% throughout the first half of February. Despite these declines, aluminum prices continued to trade in their long-term sideways range. Meanwhile, the Midwest Premium also remains consolidated, with prices retracing to the downside following a short-lived bounce at the end of January. Overall, […]
Category: Metal Prices
Global Precious Metals MMI: Precious Metal Prices Edge Further Down Month-on-Month
After almost a year of sideways movement, the Global Precious Metals MMI (Monthly Metals Index) broke its trend, declining by 4.71%. Despite the break in sideways movement for precious metal prices as a whole, most individual commodities still lack strong bullish or bearish movement as they move through Q1. Most gold and other precious metals […]
Renewables/GOES MMI: The “Dirty” Business of Disposing of Solar Panels
Numerous factors continue to pull at the Renewables MMI (Monthly Metals Index) as it moves through Q1. This past month, the index largely moved sideways, only exhibiting a slight upward movement of 1.66%. Meanwhile, renewable energy news indicated that metals like cobalt and silicon could remain in oversupply for some time. Moreover, expanding mining operations […]
Raw Steels MMI: Steel Prices Decrease as Nippon Deal Faces Setback
The Raw Steels Monthly Metals Index (MMI) fell 11.17% from January to February as steel prices declined. U.S. flat rolled steel prices continued to slide after finding a peak at the close of 2023. Following a 2% decline throughout January, hot rolled coil prices fell over 5% during the first half of February. HRC prices […]
Rare Earths MMI: Prices Drop, Huge Rare Earths Reserve Discovered in Wyoming
Month-on-month, rare earths prices exhibited sharp downward movement. While weaker downstream demand could potentially prove one culprit in the dropping prices, another potential factor is an increase in global rare earth production outside of China. If true, China could find itself bumped down the totem pole in terms of rare earth magnets dominance. Meanwhile, China’s […]
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 […]
Copper MMI: Copper Prices Remain Sideways as China Uncertainty Looms
Copper prices today remain trapped in a sideways range. Prices lack enough bearish or bullish momentum to establish a strong trend in either direction. Prices declined during the first weeks of January, falling to their lowest level since November. However, they rebounded in the second half of the month. This brought them a mere 0.52% […]
Automotive MMI: Hot-Dipped Galvanized Prices Flatten, EV Market Moving Too Quickly?
All components of the Automotive MMI moved sideways or down month-on-month. Moreover, January saw prices flatten out across the steel market, causing hot-dipped galvanized steel prices to trend close to support zones. Meanwhile, China’s wavering economy continues to prove a concern for global markets because the country is such a large steel demand driver. Many […]
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 […]
Renewables/GOES MMI: U.S. Transformer Shortage Pain Continues into 2024
The Renewables index began 2023 fairly sideways. However, it broke that trend in Q3 and Q4 when it edged downward. Numerous components of the index, including silicon and cobalt, experienced market oversupply. This caused prices to drop and pulled the index down with it. Grain oriented electrical steel also experienced market volatility in Q3 and […]