Strategic Metal Report Restart & Looking Towards 2017

First of all, happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends in the US.

It has been a while since I last updated the Strategic Metal Report blog, so I apologize to those readers who had been relying on the site for market updates.

Having recently completed my writing contract at About.com, I now have more time to again focus on those metals of more interest to myself, minor and strategic metals.

Although the fears of supply shortages that surrounded minor metals and resulted in price volatility, speculation, mainstream media coverage, as well as much political rhetoric, may have subsided over the past couple of years, there is still lots left to talk about.

Base metal prices seemed to have turned a corner in recent months. If this market rally persists, it could begin to impact the supply of a number of minor metals in 2017, including indium, tellurium, selenium and germanium.

Moreover, low prices and stable supply has only encouraged wider use of a range of minor metals. This type of environment has historically been a catalyst for the adoption of new technological developments that re-shape the consumption of minor metal markets. When and where these changes will occur are anyone’s guess, but always worthy of consideration.

The final chapter of the Fanya Metal Exchange has also still yet to be written. It is a safe bet that this story will continue into next year, leaving lots for those in the indium and bismuth markets to speculate on until its conclusion.

Of course, we would be remiss to not mention the Donald. How his nebulous policy statements will take form and what impact this will have on metal markets will, no doubt, be of interest in the coming months and beyond.

That is to say, there is lots to catch up on, and lots of interesting stories developing for 2017. I hope you will join in the discussion at SM Report.

-Terence Bell