Nickel, cobalt price: 10 charts show China’s grip on battery supply chain to last decades

With prices spiking, manufacturers making wires and pipes are looking to aluminum.

This month’s crowd surge on the silver market quickly dissipated after the price lost momentum above the $30-per ounce level and fell back just as sharply as it had risen.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the measures “will not help solve domestic problems” and only harm global trade.

Current prices would seem “far too low” if governments fulfill pledges for green infrastructure and electric-vehicle incentives, Concord Resources said.

The brokerage’s large bullish bets have startled some traders as prices for copper, widely used in power and construction, hit 9-1/2-year highs.

Natalie Scott-Gray, a senior metals analyst at StoneX, forecasts copper demand in 2021 will rise by about 5% year-on-year.

Codelco warns that the spike in prices could drive up its costs.

Global iron ore production growth will accelerate in the coming years, bringing an end to the stagnation that has persisted since 2015, Fitch says.

High rain volumes at major ports will continue to represent a challenge for Brazilian players during 1Q.