Base Metals

Unlike precious metals, base metals are abundant enough to be produced in large volumes and are rarely held as financial stores of value. Their prices are driven almost entirely by industrial supply and demand — how much is being mined, smelted, and consumed in factories, power grids, and construction sites around the world. Because of this, base metal prices are closely watched as leading indicators of economic activity, particularly in manufacturing-heavy economies.

Copper is the most closely followed of the group. Economists sometimes call it "Dr. Copper" because its price has historically correlated with broad economic health — rising when factories hum and construction booms, and falling when activity slows. Aluminum is the most produced non-ferrous metal globally and shows up in everything from aircraft to beverage cans. Nickel matters especially for stainless steel and, increasingly, for electric vehicle batteries. You can track current prices for all of these on the commodities page.

Base metals are primarily traded through the London Metal Exchange, which sets benchmark prices used worldwide. Contracts specify delivery in metric tonnes — not pounds or troy ounces — so unit awareness is essential when reading data. The base metals explained guide walks through each metal's specific uses and contract conventions.

A frequent confusion: "base" does not mean cheap or low-quality. It simply means common and primarily industrial, as opposed to rare and monetary. Lead, for instance, is a base metal despite being used in sophisticated applications like grid-scale energy storage.