Overall, the Copper Monthly Metals Index (MMI) fell 4.56% from July to August. Aside from a short-lived rise at the start of July, copper prices today remain in a downtrend, with prices falling 5.76% from the previous month. Prices did manage to rebound in August, although not enough to signal a trend reversal. (Follow copper […]
Category: Non-ferrous Metals
Lithium Market: Continued Growth, or Red Herring?
Lithium has rapidly become a critical element in the race to dominate the tech and energy sectors, resulting in a powerful and profitable global lithium market. This is mainly because the element plays an indispensable role in lithium-ion batteries, which don’t just “charge” our smartphones and laptops but also power electric vehicles. As the global […]
Renewables MMI: China’s Battery Metals Stockpile, What Does it Mean for U.S. Companies?
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 […]
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 […]
Europe’s Answer to China’s Rare Earth Monopoly
Rare earth elements and semiconductors have taken on that critical national development role once occupied by oil and petroleum products. Despite the ongoing U.S.-China competition, the latter country controls a full 90% of the global rare earths supply, transforming these elements into potential political weapons. With regard to semiconductors, China’s Civilian-Military Integration Strategy aims 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 […]
Will China’s Latest Rare Earths Finds Set the Stage for Tech Domination?
Chinese geologists recently discovered two new minerals – oboniobite and scandio-fluoro-eckermannite – at Inner Mongolia’s Bayan Obo, the world’s largest rare earths mine. According to media reports, the discovery was a joint effort by the CAS Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union Co., Ltd., Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths, and […]
Copper Shortage Fears Ignite Once Again as Global Demand Projected to Skyrocket
By now, the world knows that although the current global copper reserves are sufficient to meet demand, extraction continues to lag behind consumption. As a result, many inside and outside the copper market fear there will be a shortage in the coming years. Predictions say that the annual global demand for copper will increase by […]
