Two years of Covid: Metals get their shine back as demand fuels rally

When the world was upended by the Covid-19 pandemic, metals got their shine back.

In the last two years, demand spurred by infrastructure spending by major economies, energy transition and intermittent supply disruptions fuelled a scorching rally in metals after a downturn during the first Covid wave. Now, Russia’s war on Ukraine is ensuring that elevated prices stay the course.

According to CRISIL Research, base metals are currently at their highest levels since 2008, while steel prices in Europe are at an all-time high (in China, steel prices peaked in Q3CY2021). In the domestic market, both steel and base metals