The Renewables MMI (Monthly Metals Index) continued to plateau, moving sideways with only a slight 1.29% drop. Currently, there isn’t enough bullish or bearish price action to yank the index too far out of its sideways trend. The historically volatile movements of grain-oriented electrical steel prices are currently the only factor adding any significant volatility […]
Category: Metal Prices
Construction MMI: US Manufacturing Boom or US Manufacturing Recession?
The Construction MMI (Monthly Metals Index) finally broke free of its year-long sideways trend, but only slightly. All in all, price action moved down by 3.52%, adding to questions about the state of US manufacturing. Iron ore, h-beam, and steel rebar prices dropping were the main components driving the index down. In general, numerous factors […]
Stainless MMI: Nickel Prices Unravel Gains as Stainless Market Remains “Soft”
Overall, the Stainless Monthly Metals Index (MMI) continued to decline, with a 4.47% drop from July to August. Nickel prices continued to plunge throughout July, shedding an additional 4.43% over the course of the month. Although prices appeared to stabilize in early August, they continued to trend near their early 2024 range, having wiped out […]
Raw Steels MMI: Steel Prices Flatten Despite Bearish Conditions
The Raw Steels Monthly Metals Index (MMI) moved sideways, with a 1.15% decline from July to August. U.S. steel prices remained in search of a new bottom by the close of July. HRC prices dropped a total of 8.26% during the month, pushing them to their lowest level since December 2022. However, prices appeared to […]
Automotive MMI: EV Demand Failing to Boost Overall Metal Demand
The Automotive MMI (Monthly Metals Index) maintained a steady sideways trend month-over-month, only moving down 2.53%. Overall steel demand remains tepid, which left little bullish sentiment for hot-dipped galvanized steel. Meanwhile, other metals prices, including copper, dropped after their speculative rallies cooled off in July. Overall, the components of the automotive index had little to […]
Rare Earths MMI: China’s Metal Demand Weakens: What It Means for U.S. Rare Earth Buyers
The bears continued to make their way into the Rare Earths MMI (Monthly Metals Index), with yet another drop in price action, this time by 6.93%. Many factors pulled at rare earths prices overall, including oversupply, weak demand for metals within China and shifting dynamics in global rare earths supplies. It seems China’s over-production of […]
Aluminum Bulls Hit a Wall: Prices Plunge Despite Green Energy Hype
After aluminum prices increased in the spring and early summer, bulls became exuberant, believing that “green” initiatives like EVs, renewables, and associated power transmission technology would push the metal price higher. However, contrary to their expectations, the LME price continued to fall steadily since early June, a trend mirrored on China’s SHFE. This decline leaves […]
Renewables MMI: Solar Surplus & Transformer Woes in the Wake of Hurricane Beryl
The Renewable MMI (Monthly Metals Index) slowed in terms of bearish price action, moving sideways and dropping 2.66%. Meanwhile, cobalt prices suffered another huge price drop, mainly due to weak demand and oversupply pulling the index down more than up. According to renewable energy news sources, the market could experience more metal price volatility due […]
Global Precious Metals MMI: Precious Metals Prices to Experience More Volatility
The Global Precious Metals MMI (Monthly Metals Index) held its four-month long sideways trend month-over-month. All in all, the index narrowly missed trading flat, only budging down 0.18%. However, numerous factors continue to pull at precious metals prices in general. Gold, for one, appeared to finally be settling down after reaching record highs earlier in […]
Aluminum MMI: Aluminum Prices Sideways Following U.S. Tariffs
Overall, the Aluminum Monthly Metals Index (MMI) retraced, with a 4.67% decline from June to July. Aluminum prices continued to decline before finding a bottom in mid-June at their lowest level since mid-April. Overall, this reflected a 6.86% drop from June to July. Prices began to move sideways in mid-June, although the bias remains to […]
