August hasn’t been a good month for industrial metals so far. Most of the base metals have lost some ground in the past few weeks, however, they seem to be holding up well, overall, and the picture still looks positive.
Aluminum remains one of the strongest metals, keeping its gains after a big run up. The mid-term trend is still up and buyers should remain bullish on aluminum until something indicates the opposite.
Copper has fallen five percent, so far, this month. However, it seems to be finding support, remaining in its mid-term uptrend. Copper is still lagging and although prices are trending up, they still need to clear out resistance at $7,500/t.
Meanwhile, the rest of the commodities metals keep weakening as the US Dollar gains strength. On the other hand, Chinese stocks are continuing their way up, helping industrial metal prices to hold their ground. With all these divergences in place, it will be interesting to see where these drivers head through the rest of the year, offering a clearer picture of the future trend of industrial metal prices.
by Raul de Frutos