This month’s Renewables MMI® hasn’t yet shown that “things are looking up” for the renewable energy metals sector.
Increased investment in wind and solar down the line in Asia and elsewhere may buoy longer-term forecasts, but for the July reading, the index of metals that go into the renewables sector registered a value of 64, a decrease of 3.0 percent from 66 in June.
Chinese and Korean steel plate prices manily drove the index down, while cobalt cathodes and GOES price increases could not stem the tide. U.S. power construction spending, meanwhile, increased in May 2013 to $83.1 billion - although the revised numbers from March-April 2013 are much lower than initial estimates.
Key Price Index Drivers
Prices for U.S. grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) coil increased 1.2 percent this past month. U.S. steel plate traded sideways, while Chinese steel plate prices fell 5.2 percent after rising the previous month. The Japanese steel plate price increased a bit in from June to July.
The price of Chinese cobalt cathodes climbed 5.0 percent, while the price of neodymium closed the month after dropping 21.2 percent. Silicon did not budge the entire month.
The Renewables MMI® collects and weights 8 metal price points used extensively within the renewable energy industry to provide a unique view into renewable energy metal price trends over a 30-day period.