What are metal prices (metal commodities)?

Metal prices (metal commodities) are only for a few metals quoted on exchanges. Only aluminium alloy, aluminium, copper, lead, nickel, tin, zinc and Nasaac (North American special aluminium alloy) are exchange traded commodities.

What is a metal exchange price?

Contracts traded on metal exchanges are also called futures contracts . There are companies which provide a pricing service set the price by talking to producers, traders and consumers. These prices are more an indication than an actual exchange price. Unlike the prices on an exchange, pricing providers tend to give a weekly or bi-weekly price.

What are metal price ETF's?

Some of the more complex metal price ETF's are designed to track the inverse of a metal's price or even multiples of the market price. Other ETF's track the price of an individual metal or a group of metals. Investors also participate in metal price speculation through investment in mining companies and funds that invest in mining firms.

How will metals prices change in the future?

With slowing demand from emerging markets and advanced economies, we are more likely to see an era of much lower prices than we have seen in the past few years. While we have highlighted changes in demand, supply also matters in the metals story.