The Stainless Monthly Metals Index (MMI) dropped 8.87% from June to July. After nickel prices hit a bottom mid-July, they followed the base metal trend upward. By the beginning of August, however, the rebound had faltered, and prices resumed their descent. Both last month’s increases and this month’s declines were extremely narrow. For that reason, […]
Category: Metal Prices
Automotive MMI: Downward Trend Continues, Experts Lose Confidence in the Automotive Market
The Automotive MMI (Monthly Metals Index) dropped by 6.32% this past month, a downward trend it has been maintaining since May. The drop comes despite valiant efforts to put out some of the fires plaguing the car manufacturing industry. But with the microchip shortage, surging inflation, and issues with both supply and demand, the automotive […]
Copper MMI: Copper Prices Move Sideways Amid Conflicting Data
The Copper Monthly Metals Index (MMI) dropped 7.33% month over month as components declined across the board. Still, copper prices seem reluctant to pick a direction. In the lead-up to August, copper prices saw notable increases. There were also several bullish indicators of note, including higher short-term highs. In short: after months of declines, prices […]
Global Precious Metals MMI Still Dropping
The Global Precious Metals MMI dropped by 3.77% from last month. Leading the trend were silver and platinum, which suffered the most significant drops. Both gold and silver prices appear poised for an additional price drop on the back of elevated interest rates, which are still rising at a higher-than-expected pace. Last month, the Precious […]
Aluminum Prices: Is China Turning on the Stimulus Taps?
It is not an idle question. For the last two decades, China’s infrastructure spending has been the engine of demand growth for steel, copper, and aluminum prices. So when the South China Morning Post reported that local governments sold 1.94 trillion yuan (US$289 billion) worth of bonds in June to fund infrastructure spending and boost […]
Stainless MMI: Nickel Prices Fall to a 6-Month Low
The Stainless MMI continues its decline this month. Moreover, nickel prices continue to show weakness without any apparent bullish anticipation from market participants. As the entire industrial metals market sloped downward, nickel prices followed suit. Moreover, volumes remain lower than pre-LME shutdown levels, which will continue to foster slow price movement. The Stainless Monthly Metals […]
Construction MMI: Indices and Demand Decline for Another Month
The Construction MMI (Monthly Metals Index) extended its decline from last month. Altogether, the index fell 10.69% from June to July. China is Poised to Inject Big Money into Infrastructure News recently broke that China’s State Council is preparing to increase credit lines across the board, providing an additional 800 billion yuan to fund […]
Aluminum MMI: Aluminum Prices Plummet to 12-Month Low
Aluminum prices continue to display a macro downtrend. Shorter-term trading ranges are forming but also breaking quickly, signaling further bearish sentiment. Simultaneously, breakouts to the downside seem to indicate a lack of bullish strength and support. Altogether, the Aluminum Monthly Metals Index (MMI) dropped by 8.06% month over month. The MetalMiner Insights platform includes global […]
Vladimir Potanin Sanctioned by the UK and Nickel Price Impact
The UK government has added Vladimir Potanin, Norilsk Nickel’s president and chairman of the management board, to its list of sanctioned individuals. The LME nickel price remains in question. A June 29 update notification from HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) noted Potanin’s addition. The stated reason was that he would benefit from […]
Copper Prices Plunge, But Chile Remains Optimistic
Copper price and prices have long been considered a major indicator of global economic health. So when they plunged to 16-month lows on June 23, investors quickly hit the “panic button.” According to this CNN Business article, the commodity’s 11% drop over two weeks shows that global growth is slowing. However, not everyone agrees. Chile’s […]