PRESS ROOM
Industrial metals impacted by geopolitics, but longer-term fundamentals remain key
Friday 25th February '22
Geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine have also impacted industrial metals. Among the commodities affected are nickel and aluminium for which Russia is a key supplier. If tensions subside, inevitably some of the shine could come off these metals. But the backwardation in both, an otherwise unusual state for industrial metals, extends much further into the future. A combination of underinvestment in the global mining sector and growing demand for base metals is creating the risk of metals being undersupplied in the years to come pushing several industrial metals curves into backwardation. Tin too, for the same reason, was among the top performing commodities last year and is continuing to make gains at the start of 2022.