Metal price cycles, including copper, aluminum, and cobalt

Metal price cycles, including copper, aluminum, and cobalt Read this analysis of metal price cycles, including copper, aluminum, lithium and cobalt, featuring insights from Christopher Gilbert of Biena Consulting Srl. It also addresses the significant increase in metals demand from China between 2003 and around 2012. Metals prices are highly variable. Over the fifteen years starting in 2010, the standard deviation of monthly averages of US dollar iron ore prices was 33% (at an annualized rate), very slightly above that of Brent crude oil at 32%. The comparable figures for aluminium and copper were 16% and 17% respectively. By contrast, US automobile prices have a monthly standard deviation of just 1.4%.