Metals pinned between old and new cycles

A steel worker of ThyssenKrupp walks in front of a blast furnace at a ThyssenKrupp steel factory in Duisburg, western Germany, November 14, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo

IT’S been a year to forget for industrial metal traders.

Early optimism around China’s return from lockdown dissipated over the first half of the year, leaving most metals chopping around in difficult range-trading conditions over the second half.