Short Circuited. Manic Metals Report 05/30/2025

The goal of being the dominant player in artificial intelligence and data center means having a steady supply of copper but based off inventories globally right now those dreams of artificial intelligence dominance might be short circuited.
The Latest Data from the London Metals Exchange, copper inventories have fallen by 75,000 tons for 10 consecutive days, reported by Bloomberg. Claims of weak demand are unfounded; the drop in stocks indicates a supply deficit, which may worsen. This is why copper prices are higher this morning.
Although the copper market has experienced an uplift due to this news, concerns regarding trade issues with China are maintaining a certain degree of restraint in the copper markets.
On Truth Social President Trump said that” Two weeks ago China was in grave economic danger! The very high Tariffs I set made it virtually impossible for China to TRADE into the United States marketplace which is, by far, number one in the World. We went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China, and it was devastating for them. Many factories closed and there was, to put it mildly, “civil unrest.” I saw what was happening and didn’t like it, for them, not for us. I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn’t want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”
Coal is not metal, but it is a rock and back in vogue.  Has the ability to meet demand for oil is going to need a lot of electricity.  Naureen Malik at Bloomberg reported the Trump administration’s emergency order last week to extend the life of an aging coal plant that faced permanent closure this weekend is baffling experts and enraging clean-power advocates.
The decree thrust the J.H. Campbell power plant on the shores of Lake Michigan to the fore of President Donald Trump’s push to revive the country’s struggling coal industry.
Conservative lawmakers who called for the extension hailed the move as a way to help a Midwest electric system facing occasional stress — and to counteract a years-long shift away
from the dirtiest fossil fuel. The regional grid’s operator, however, said it did not ask for the action to be taken, raising questions on why it was deemed to be so urgent by the Trump administration.
“This is a fake emergency,” says Tyson Slocum, an energy expert with watchdog group Public Citizen, which plans to challenge the order. “This is a political abuse of statutory emergency powers.”
The Campbell plant in West Olive, which first went into
service in 1962, has three units with a total of 1.45 gigawatts
of capacity. Majority owner Consumers Energy announced plans in 2021 to shut the facility and stop burning coal by this year.
The official shutdown date is May 31, but US Energy Secretary Chris Wright upended that plan with an announcement late on May23, a Friday leading into a three-day holiday weekend.
“I hereby determine that an emergency exists in portions of the Midwest region of the United States due to a shortage of electric energy, a shortage of facilities for the generation of electric energy, and other causes,” he wrote in an emergency
order. The decree came as the central US power grid operated by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator heads into summer at an elevated risk of energy shortages during heat waves and
other extreme events. Demand for power has been climbing, and stress in the MISO system has building, especially in the Midwest, as utilities shut down coal and natural gas plants to rely more heavily on intermittent wind and solar.
The Energy Department determined that the immediate fix for the crisis was demanding that the Campbell plant stay in service for an additional 90 days, using authority granted by the Federal Power Act. “Under President Trump, the DOE and Secretary Wright are ensuring Americans have access to all forms of reliable energy, including coal,” a Department of Energy spokesperson said. “For years, American grid operators have warned decommissioning baseload power sources such as coal plants would jeopardize the reliability of our grid systems, including MISO, which has
raised alarm bells. This administration is committed to ensuring Americans have access to reliable, affordable, and secure energy that isn’t dependent on whether the sun shines or the wind blows.”
Good news on inflation is holding back gold this morning the producer price index came down and that was huge. It makes you wonder why the Federal Reserve continues talking up inflation fears when it’s getting closer to their target rate than it has in years.
The core PCE price index, which is the Federal Reserve’s primary measure of inflation, decreased in April to its lowest level since March 2021.
But the real news should be the fact that President Trump has had wild success reducing the US trade deficit.  Advanced goods trade balance came in at $87.62 billion that was well below the $143 billion expected, way below last month’s figure of 163.17 billion. Tariffs in that respect are effective.
You’re seeing significant swings here and it looks like the gold platinum spread looks like it’s solid and the trade levels are very critical and trading metals intraday. Physical metal demand is also very solid.
If you need to get involved with this you can call me today at 888-264-5665 or e-mail me at pflynn@pricegroup.com Stay tuned to the Fox Business Network.