The prices of key industrial metals have been enjoying a “spectacular rally”, says Buttonwood in The Economist. Copper has jumped by about 25% since the start of April, while iron ore has delivered 12% gains for the year to date.
Commodity bulls have China to thank for this rapid recovery, says Buttonwood. Steel blast furnaces were running at 92% capacity in the first week of June, which is above normal levels. For all the talk of the Middle Kingdom’s shift to a consumer economy, the authorities seem happy to use the old method of stoking a construction boom when a round of stimulus is needed.
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The best bet may well be silver, says Taki Tsaklanos of InvestingHaven.com. As both an industrial and a precious metal it stands to gain even if another virus wave triggers renewed lockdowns. That is likely to mean even more emergency money printing, which is a boon for precious metals. Currently trading around $17.80/oz, he expects silver to approach $21/oz before the end of the year.
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