Non-ferrous metals fall amid weak demand in China and fears of a global recession
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The price index for non-ferrous metals LMEX (takes into account aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, nickel and tin) at the London Metal Exchange (LME) in the II quarter of 2023 fell by almost 9%. As of June 30, the LMEX value was 3681 points.
The decline in the index came after two quarters of growth. In the fourth quarter of 2022, it increased by 12.5% to 3984 points, in the first quarter of 2023 a symbolic increase of 1% to 4024 points was recorded.
Zinc (by 19% to $2,362/t) and nickel (by 14% to $20,516/t) fell the most in Q2 this year. The price of aluminum fell by 10% to $2096/t, copper by 8% to $8210/t and lead by 0.3% to $2100/t. Of the non-ferrous metals traded on the LME, only tin rose in price in April-June: by 4% to $26,787/t.
World prices for non-ferrous metals have been growing since March 2020, and after the start of Russia’s NWO in Ukraine, this trend has intensified. In particular, prices for copper, aluminum and nickel on the LME in March last year updated their historical highs, reaching $10,674/t, $3,849/t and $48,078/t, respectively. But since mid-March, a decline began, caused, in particular, by the outbreak of coronavirus in China. Among other factors of price reduction, experts then called the fall in production in Europe due to the energy crisis, the increase in the US Federal Reserve rate and the weakening of fears of disruptions in the supply of non-ferrous metals from Russia.
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