A mixed bag of metals in 2024
The rise and rise of electric vehicles is great for the copper producers, but bad for PGMs. Coal is yesterday’s fuel, though gold’s still got it
One in five cars to hit the road this year will be electric. That’s 1-million new cars a month, which will take the adoption rate of the technology to about 30% in China and 20% in Europe. Consumers, it seems, are getting their heads around some of the negative factors such as performance and range that used to dissuade them, according to S&P Global Commodities. Even affordability without government subsidies is improving, the research house says.
For commodity markets in general, and nickel and copper in particular, continued EV growth is good news. After a moderate to disappointing price performance for so-called battery metals in 2023, the trend this year is a friend for the likes of Glencore. In the context of robust demand it only then takes a surprise disruption to supply to tip the scales in favour of a huge deficit and a handsome price run. ..
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