The price of oil has come down significantly over the last week or so falling from over $147/barrel to $126/barrel as of this writing. Is this the top of the chart and if it continues to fall what can we expect for metals?
Some are still predicting $250/barrel for oil next year, though others have called $50/barrel. Both seem […]

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We reported the Peru mine worker strikes earlier this month, but it appears that the strikes are already coming to an end — without any immediate results. However, according to one article, “the government said it would re-examine miners’ pensions and its congress said it would reconsider a law limiting miners’ portion of shared profits […]

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We wrote in May on lead and last month on zinc, two metals that after years in the doldrums rose rapidly in price during 2006 to record highs in 2007, only to fall back over the last 6 months to levels not much above their historic norms. The rapid rise in price encouraged massive investment […]

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This is a true story: I didn’t really understand what a subwoofer was until my husband informed me that he had purchased a cabinet to be placed under our new flat screen television. Since I was in charge of all “design elements” of our home remodel project, I was outraged at this purchase, especially considering […]

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If the investors or speculators on the futures markets have been the prime movers in the price of commodities (and there are arguments for and against on their affect) then maybe the 3rd quarter could see a long awaited adjustment in metals, oil and agricultural commodities according to a Reuters report in Mineweb .
The main […]

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I grew up in a family of teachers, writers and musicians (though my mother should have been a mechanical engineer). So having a son who is obsessed with manufacturing processes (his favorite show is How It’s Made) gives me a chuckle. It’s not enough for him to know that his new Razor is made of […]

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Citicorp produced an extremely bullish report this week predicting that copper prices would be sharply higher in 2009 and 2010. Specifically they forecast copper to rise to $5lb by the end of 2008 and $5.50lb by the end of 2010. The reasons given were a tight concentrates market, slower supply growth than had originally been […]

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Nickel has fallen by more than half since April 2007 due to falling demand for stainless steel. With announcements of further cut backs in China and Korea and Steel Business Briefings recent survey suggesting 44% of European buyers expect demand to drop further in the 3rd quarter the future is not looking bright for nickel.
However, […]

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We have written recently about the price of aluminum and expressed our belief that the high stocks and current excess of production over demand should keep a cap on prices. Western world unwrought aluminum stocks rose from 1.58 million tons in April to 1.67 million tons by the end of May according to a Reuters […]

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In a 5-4 decision last Thursday, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the second amendment was not written for mere militia purposes, but instead protects “the inherent right to self-defense,” as Justice Antonin Scalia told reporters. The opposing justices fear the close decision will hurt gun control laws, arguing that this ruling has opened […]

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