The
Aluminum Monthly Metals Index (MMI) jumped 7.7% for this month’s reading, as the aluminum physical delivery premium continues to rise.
Delivery premium continues to rise
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The US Midwest Premium, like just about everything else these days, continued to inch upward in recent weeks.
After falling to $0.12 per pound in early February, the premium has more than doubled since then. The Midwest Premium hit $0.26 per pound ($573 per metric ton) to close last week.
As MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns noted previously, rising delivery premiums are an indicator of market tightness.
“China’s pull on the rest of the world’s aluminium supply does not appear to be abating,” Burns explained last month.
The
Copper Monthly Metals Index (MMI) surged by 10.6% for this month’s reading, as the copper price has soared to a record high.
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Copper prices reach record highs
Last month, MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns dissected various views on the copper market after prices had retraced from a February peak of around $9,600 per metric ton.
Would the price go up or would it languish? As he noted, banks held differing opinions, with Goldman Sachs being particularly bullish on the red metal.
“JP Morgan is forecasting copper prices to peak at $9,000 per ton this quarter and slide back to $7,865 per metric ton over the second half of the year,” Burns wrote last month. “It argues more plentiful mine supply will take the steam out of the copper market.
The
Global Precious Monthly Metals Index (MMI) jumped by 7.1% for this month’s index reading, as the gold price gained while the US dollar retraced.
Gold price up to three-month high
After stumbling to around $1,735 per ounce in late February, the gold price has gradually picked up steam.
The gold price closed April around $1,790 per ounce. However, gold really picked up last week, closing Friday at around $1,831 per ounce.
The price marked its highest since February.
Instructive for commodities in general, the US dollar has lost strength in recent weeks. In general, the US dollar and gold trade inversely.
The US dollar index closed March at 93.30 before steadily declining in April down to 90.60. Despite a slight recovery in early May, the dollar has continued to slide. The dollar index closed Friday at 90.23.
The
Renewables Monthly Metals Index (MMI) traded flat for this month’s reading, as cobalt prices have surged so far this year.
(Editor’s note: This report also includes the MMI for grain-oriented electrical steel, or GOES.)
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Rising cobalt prices
Earlier this month, MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns delved into the rise of electric vehicles. Furthermore, he also zeroed in on rising EV demand’s impact on prices, particularly for critical battery metals like cobalt.
For EV manufacturers, the challenge lies in cobalt supply, cost and ethics. A majority of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the documented use of child labor in artisanal mining operations poses significant ethical problems.
Steel, Aluminum, Copper, Stainless, Rare Earth, Metal Prices, Forecasting | MetalMiner
Most of the mainstream press’ coverage of
U.S. Steel’s giant Mon Valley plant upgrade project cancelation focuses on several issues, from permitting delays to U.S. Steel stating that a competing steelmaker plans to build a facility in another state.
Игорь Головнёв/Adobe Stockk
The project, an anticipated $1.5 billion investment across the Mon Valley works sites, would have added an endless casting and rolling facility at the Edgar Thomson plant. In addition, it would have created a cogeneration facility at its Clairton Plant.
Mon Valley project details
The combined investments would have allowed U.S. Steel to produce thin gauge HRC at CRC gauges.