The jump in the dollar and borrowing costs have made it much more expensive for banks to finance London Metal Exchange positions in recent days.

The dollar’s rally paused on Tuesday, providing relief for bullion, which rose as much as 1.2%.

China’s rapid build-up of clean energy is claiming more copper, supporting the market at a time when traditional sources of demand like housing are in the dumps.

The dollar’s relentless surge to repeated records is making commodities priced in the currency more expensive for overseas buyers.

A proposed pipeline of coal mine projects in Australia, the world’s second-biggest exporter of the fuel, are threatening to lock in decades of new carbon emissions.

“In general the outlook is pretty weak for metals,” said Ryan McKay, a commodity strategist at TD Securities.

Key among those challenges as the world’s largest oil producer seeks to unlock an estimated $1.3 trillion in mineral wealth are logistics and water supplies.

When it comes to copper, big miners and metals traders are warning that in just a couple of years’ time, a massive shortfall will emerge.

The approval comes a week after people familiar with the matter said OZ Minerals was seeking about A$10 billion in a potential sale to BHP.

The US is still dependent on China for minerals to feed its nascent battery manufacturing efforts.

Scorching gains for lithium threaten to push costs even higher for Chinese battery makers.

Russian imports, which remain exempt from US sanctions, are flowing into the country unrestricted when allies like Australia continue to face restrictions.