The US Dollar has risen since July, creating a depressing effect on commodities, which in turn is leading to lower metal prices.
This month, the US dollar is just “chilling” at its highest levels in 4 years.
This strong rally is not letting commodities breath. The CRB commodity index recently marked a 4-year low, as we warned last month, confirming that commodities continue to be bearish.
This keeps putting pressure on base metal prices, none of which were able to rally in the second half of the year. This picture, however, could certainly change if the US Dollar sees a ceiling and commodities find a bottom. So far, however, the dollar seems to be winning the battle.
What This Means For Metal Buyers
Based on the current picture, 2015 doesn’t look promising for commodities. This is not good for metal prices overall. We’ll have to wait and see if commodities are able to bounce back during the next months. The long-term trend is still down.