Base Metals Prices

Base metal prices increased 4.4% month on month in August, following July’s 2.3% fall.

Average base metal prices rose in August at the sharpest rate since January, taking cumulative gains to 17% since December last year. Of the twelve metals in our report, ten saw prices increase in August, with prices for copper, molybdenum and zinc rising the most. A combination of tight supply and robust underlying demand linked to the green transition and the AI boom provided support. Only iron ore prices fell, dampened by strong supply from Australia, Brazil and new producer Guinea. Meanwhile, cobalt prices were broadly steady—as they have been since February—as the DRC’s export quotas put a floor under the market.