As the first half of 2024 draws to a close, prices for precious metals and base metals have improved. The same can’t be said for platinum group metals (PGMs), battery minerals, and iron ore. Month-to-month, the price of gold improved marginally, but year-to-date (YTD) and year-on-year (yoy), the yellow metal has increased 14% and 22% respectively. The improvement in silver prices is even better with 28% YTD and 30% yoy.
Among the PGMs, platinum has improved 3% yoy and 9% YTD, while the slide for palladium continued until June. Palladium prices fell 6% YTD and 21% yoy, but the price improved 4% during the month of June. Automakers use platinum and palladium to produce catalytic converters and traders say they built up stocks in anticipation of Russian sanctions. Once the stocks are consumed, platinum and palladium prices should improve. The industry may be reaching that inflection point.
For H1 2024, prices for non-ferrous based metals showed improvement across the board. The same can be said for the yoy price comparison except for nickel. Swings in prices affected all nickel miners, but Australian producers have been hit particularly hard. Copper, tin, and zinc prices experienced double-digit YTD and yoy increases.
Prices for battery minerals, cobalt and lithium hydroxide (LiOH), continue to slide. The price for LiOH is down 71% yoy and 13% YTD and 5% month-to-month. The price for cobalt has decreased 17% yoy and 5% YTD. It’s flat month-to-month.
The price for iron ore, which E&MJ tracks as the delivered price for China (62% Fe), has declined 6% yoy and 27% YTD. Month-to-month iron ore prices fell 9%.
Metal prices, except for precious metals, serve as a barometer for the global economy, strengthening as the economy improves. Gold trades on fear.
