Home › Topics › Metals & Critical Minerals
FR · Métaux et minerais critiques

Topic

Metals & Critical Minerals

Gold answers to real rates, copper to industrial activity, uranium to power demand: each metal runs on its own driver. Supply concentration, refining and enrichment bottlenecks and the financialisation of markets, from the 2022 LME nickel squeeze to physical uranium funds, make price cycles sharper than demand alone would imply. The monthly copper price since 1986, the gold-copper ratio across 620 months and the gold-silver ratio turn these metals into macro signals.

46pieces
9in-depth analyses
15datasets
2quick reads

Where to start

Three reads, in order: the basics, the full mechanism, then what the data says.

01The basics Gold and Central Banks: The Record Buying Wave 2022-2026 and the Slow De-Dollarization Central banks bought gold at a record pace in 2022-2024, then slowed in 2025: who buys, why, and what it signals about the de-dollarization of reserves. AnalysisRead → 02The full mechanism Gold as a Monetary Signal: Real Yields, the Dollar and Central Bank Buying Reading the gold price beyond inflation: real yields, dollar, central bank buying, and the $3,000+ regime since March 2025. In-depth analysisRead → 03The evidence Inflation-adjusted gold prices, 1971–2026: the January 1980 monthly peak has been exceeded Monthly average gold prices, deflated to March 2026 USD using BLS CPI-U. StudyRead →

Research and data

Our in-depth research and the downloadable series on the subject.

Dataset 14,508.00 USD/metric tonLatest value · October 2026 Copper Price History: Monthly Global Price Since 1992 See the data → Dataset Commodity Prices Commodity price datasets for metals, energy, softs and grains, mostly from the World Bank Pink Sheet (CC BY 4.0), monthly since 1992. See the data → StudyHow to Invest in Gold: Bullion, ETFs, Miners and the Tax Bill at Exit StudyGold-Copper Ratio: 620 Months Ranked Since 1975, and Why the Historical Average Is Not One Number

All analyses, by angle

Grouped by sub-topic rather than by date. Filter to get straight to the point.

Physical Commodity Markets23

The sub-pillar →

Other angles14

Quick reads

Comparisons and common misconceptions: the essentials in a few minutes.

ComparisonBitcoin vs gold: store of value compared ComparisonDollar vs gold: the reserve-asset tension

Related topics

The subjects that most often intersect with this topic in our analyses.

Inflation114 pieces Inflation is a regime rather than a monthly print, and its persistence matters more than its level. 4 in common → Dollar & Global Monetary System37 pieces The dollar does more than mirror the US economy: it sets financial conditions for everyone else. 3 in common → Leading Indicators20 pieces A leading indicator is only as good as its record of false alarms. 3 in common → Financial Instability24 pieces Financial stress is measurable: it often shows up in volatility and credit spreads before it reaches the headlines. 2 in common → Macro-Financial Regimes24 pieces A hedge that worked in one inflation regime can become the risk in the next. 2 in common → Real Rates22 pieces An interest rate means little until it has been adjusted for inflation. 2 in common →
This topic also exists in French.Métaux et minerais critiques, 16 pieces →