In addition to crude oil and natural gas, Russian metals and minerals occupy an important position in the global commodity market. Russia is the largest producer of raw aluminum other than China. Rusal produced about 3.9 million tons of raw aluminum in 2021, accounting for 5.6% of the total global output in that year; its aluminum processing products mainly went to Europe, Russia, the CIS countries, Asia and America. Russia is also a major global supplier of nickel. Nickel export trade accounts for 7% of total global exports and 42% of total global exports to Europe.
As the Russian-Ukrainian conflict continues to escalate,Bloomberg New Energy Financial ForecastaluminumwithnickelThese two metals are most obviously impacted, while copper and other battery metals are only affected. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict had a rapid impact on the prices of aluminum and nickel, and the prices of both metals reached their highest levels in 10 years. The industry had already anticipated that the aluminum market would be in a state of austerity in 2022, and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict would further worsen the situation in the industry. Prices of platinum group metals have hardly been affected by this conflict, and the market is expected to be oversupplied in 2022. Overall, the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on the nickel market is estimated to be limited to short-term price changes. Battery metals, including lithium and cobalt, have fluctuated greatly in price since the second half of 2020, mainly due to supply risks and the pandemic. This state of affairs is expected to continue.
On February 22, 2022, the US Geological Survey (USGS) announced a new catalog of 50 key minerals. At the same time, it also stated that this catalog is important to the US economy and national security...