Futures tracking the prices US manufacturers pay for aluminum and steel surged after President Donald Trump said he will double tariffs on the metals this week.
Commodities broadly declined on prospects that a stronger dollar and potential trade disputes under a Donald Trump presidency will weaken the appeal of raw materials in global markets.
Gold rose to a record on Wednesday on haven demand before the US election, and held a narrow gain after jobs and GDP data that showed the ongoing resilience of the US economy.
Some of the world’s biggest energy trading companies are returning to metals, years after getting burnt in the notoriously difficult markets.
When the oil market liberalized in the 1970s, a group of commodity trading buccaneers led by the infamous Marc Rich made fortunes by connecting buyers and sellers and surfing the price swings of this newly tradable commodity.
Elon Musk says there’s big money to be made by turning raw lithium into battery chemicals, but shrinking profit margins suggest the mining end of the business might still be a better bet.
Industrial metals are on track for the worst quarter since the 2008 financial crisis as prices are pummeled by recession worries. Copper, the great economic bellwether, has ricocheted into a bear market from a record four months ago, while tin just tumbled 21% in its worst week since a 1980s crisis froze London trading for four years.
There’s a fight brewing in the lithium market, after a controversial forecast from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts set off a backlash among some of the industry’s most prominent experts.
For the first time in more than a decade, six of the world’s most vital industrial metals are flashing a rare synchronized warning over tight supply, as logistical turmoil and strong demand spark anxiety among buyers.