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Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central’s office in Singapore June 19, 2017.

Edgar Su | Reuters

Commodity prices are largely expected to fall in 2025 due to a sluggish global economic outlook and a resurgent dollar, but gold and gas prices are poised to rally this year, according to industry experts.

Commodities had a mixed 2024: While investors flocked to gold to hedge against inflation, commodities such as iron ore fell as the world’s largest consumer of metals, China, struggled with tepid growth. The story this year is likely to be the same.

“Commodities in general will be under pressure across the board in 2025,” said research firm BMI’s head of commodities analysis Sabrin Chowdhury, adding that the strength of the U.S. dollar will cap demand for commodities priced in the greenback. 

Market participants will be keeping an eye on further China stimulus in hopes that it may fuel a recovery in commodities demand in the world’s second-largest economy. 

Oil prices to slip

Crude oil prices last year were dragged down by weak Chinese demand and a supply glut, and market watchers expect prices to remain pressured in 2025.

The International Energy Agency in November painted a bearish oil market picture for 2025, forecasting global oil demand to grow under a million barrels per day. This compares to a two million barrel per day increase in 2023.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia sees Brent oil prices falling to $70 per barrel this year on expectations increased oil supply from non‑OPEC+ countries that’ll eclipse the rise in global oil consumption.

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Oil prices year-on-year

BMI said in its December note that the first half of 2025 was likely to see a supply glut as substantial new production from U.S., Canada, Guyana and Brazil comes online. Also, if OPEC+ plans to roll back voluntary cuts materialize, the oversupply will further pressure prices.

BMI noted that the demand picture in 2025 was not clear yet. “Global oil and gas demand remains uncertain, with stable economic growth and rising fuel demand offset by trade war impacts, inflation and contracting demand in developed markets.”

Global crude benchmark Brent was last trading at $76.34 per barrel, around the same levels as it was a year ago in early January.

Gas set to rise

Global natural gas prices have rallied since mid-December 2024, driven by cold weather and geopolitics, Citi analysts said.

Ukraine’s recent halt of Russian gas flow to several European nations on New Year’s Day has introduced greater uncertainty to the global gas markets. As long as the cutoff remains in place, gas prices are likely to remain elevated.

Colder weather for the rest of winter in the U.S. and Asia could also keep prices elevated, said Citi.

BMI forecasts gas prices to rise by about 40% in 2025 to $3.4 per million British thermal units (MMbtu) compared to an average of $2.4 per MMbtu in 2024, driven by growing demand from the LNG sector and higher net pipeline exports. 

U.S. Henry Hub natural gas prices, which was the gauge that BMI referred to, are currently trading at $2.95 per MMbtu.

“LNG will continue to drive new consumption, supported by rising export capacity and strong demand in Europe and Asia,” BMI analysts wrote. 

Gold may add sheen

Gold prices notched a slew of all-time highs last year, and the run of fresh records could extend in 2025.

“Investors are optimistic about gold and silver for 2025 because they are so pessimistic on geopolitics and government debt,” said Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault, a gold investment services firm, emphasizing on the yellow metal’s role as a hedge against risk. 

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Gold prices year-on-year

JPMorgan analysts also expect gold prices to rise, especially if U.S. policies become “more disruptive” in the form of increased tariffs, elevated trade tensions and higher risks to economic growth.  

Gold notched its best annual performance in over a decade last year. Bullion prices rose about 26% in 2024, data from FactSet showed, driven by central bank as well as retail investor purchases.

BullionVault and JPMorgan expect gold prices to go up to $3,000 per ounce in 2025.

Silver and platinum likely to advance

Gold’s poorer cousin, silver, could also see prices rise, especially as demand for solar power — silver is used in building solar panels — remains resilient and the metal’s supply stays limited.

“Both silver and platinum have strong underlying deficit fundamentals, and we think a catch up trade later in 2025, once base metals find firmer footing, could be quite potent,” JPMorgan analysts noted. 

Solar power panels near Crawford Notch, New Hampshire. Silver is primarily utilized in industrial applications and is frequently incorporated in the production of automobiles, solar panels, jewelry, and electronics

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Silver is primarily utilized in industrial applications and is frequently incorporated in the production of automobiles, solar panels, jewelry and electronics. It is also needed in building artificial intelligence products and has military applications as well, said CIO of Swiss Asia Capital’s CIO Juerg Kiener.

That said, silver’s upside will be dependent on global industrial demand which will be impacted by Trump’s tariffs, precious metals trading services group MKS Pamp wrote in an outlook report.

Copper faces demand worries

Prices of copper, which is key to the manufacturing of electric vehicles and power grids, may see a dent after shooting to a record high this year on the back of a global energy transition.

“A potential deceleration in energy transition amid Trump’s policy shifts might dampen, to some extent, the ‘green sentiment’ that bolstered prices in 2024,” BMI wrote in a note.

Close up of electrical engineer inspecting copper windings in electrical engineering factory

Monty Rakusen | Digitalvision | Getty Images

While copper prices rose to a record high in May 2024 largely as a result of a squeezed market, they trended lower for the rest of the year, and will continue to do so, John Gross, president at the eponymous metals management consultancy John Gross and Company, told CNBC.

A cocktail mix of high inflation, elevated interest rates and a stronger dollar will weigh on all metals markets, the metals market veteran said.

Iron ore forecast to drop

Iron ore prices may also slide on the back of an oversupply resulting from Chinese policies and geopolitics. 

“The expected U.S. tariffs on China, changing nature of Chinese stimulus and new low-cost supply [will] push the market into further surplus,” Goldman Sachs said, forecasting prices to decline to $95 per ton in 2025.

This despite China likely to import record amount of iron ore this year, according to Reuters. Iron ore prices fell over 24%, according to data from FactSet.

Cocoa and coffee

Cocoa and coffee prices stand out amongst the soft commodities basket, having scaled record highs in 2024 fueled by adverse weather conditions and supply tightness in key producing regions. But demand may taper in 2025.

“Given that these commodities are trading at levels well above cost of production, we expect production to expand and demand to contract in the coming year,” Rabobank researchers said.

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Nissan sounds the alarm as it pushes to delay supplier payments

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Nissan sounds the alarm as it pushes to delay supplier payments

Is Nissan raising the red flag? Nissan is now asking suppliers to delay payments, sparking concern over the automaker’s future.

Nissan asks supplier to delay payments to free up cash

As part of its recovery plan, Nissan announced in May that it plans to cut 20,000 jobs, or around 15% of its global workforce. It’s also closing several factories to free up cash and reduce costs.

According to several emails and company documents (via Reuters), Nissan is working with its suppliers to delay payments.

“They could choose to be paid immediately or opt for a later payment,” Nissan said. The company explained in a statement to Reuters that it had incentivized some of its suppliers in Europe and the UK to accept more flexible payment terms, at no extra cost.

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The emails show that the move would free up cash for the first quarter (April to June), similar to its request before the end of the financial year.

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The new Nissan LEAF (Source: Nissan)

One employee said in an email to co-workers that Nissan was asking suppliers “again” to delay payments. The emails, viewed by Reuters, were exchanged between Nissan workers in Europe and the United Kingdom.

Nissan is taking immediate action as part of its recovery plan, aiming to turn things around, the company said in a statement.

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Nissan N7 electric sedan (Source: Dongfeng Nissan)

“While we are taking these actions, we aim for sufficient liquidity to weather the costs of the turnaround actions and redeem bond maturities,” the company said.

Nissan didn’t comment on the internal discussions, but the emails did reveal it gave suppliers two options. They could either delay payments at a higher interest rate, or HSBC would make the payment, and Nissan would repay the bank with interest.

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Nissan’s upcoming lineup for the US, including the new LEAF EV and “Adventure Focused” SUV (Source: Nissan)

The company had 2.2 trillion yen ($15.2 billion) in cash and equivalents at the end of March, but it has around 700 billion yen ($4.9 billion) in debt that’s due later this year.

As part of Re:Nissan, the Japanese automaker’s recovery plan, Nissan looks to cut costs by 250 billion yen. By fiscal year 2026, it plans to return to profitability.

Electrek’s Take

With an aging vehicle lineup and a wave of new competition from China, such as BYD, Nissan is quickly falling behind.

Nissan is launching several new electric and hybrid vehicles over the next few years, including the next-gen LEAF, which is expected to help boost sales.

In China, the world’s largest EV market, Nissan’s first dedicated electric sedan, the N7, is off to a hot start with over 20,000 orders in 50 days.

The N7 will play a role in Nissan’s recovery efforts as it plans to export it to overseas markets. It will be one of nine new energy vehicles, including EVs and PHEVs, that Nissan plans to launch in China.

Can Nissan turn things around? Or will it continue falling behind the pack? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Ford CEO shuts down Tesla Full Self-Driving deal, says Waymo is better

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Ford CEO shuts down Tesla Full Self-Driving deal, says Waymo is better

Ford has long been rumored to be in discussions with Tesla about licensing its Full Self-Driving technology, but CEO Jim Farley has now shut down those rumors.

Farley confirmed that Ford talked with Tesla, but he believes Waymo has a better solution.

Back in 2021, Tesla CEO Elon Musk mentioned that he had early discussions with other automakers about licensing self-driving technology, but these discussions didn’t lead to any agreements.

In 2023, the CEO announced that Tesla would be open to licensing Autopilot and FSD to other automakers.

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However, a few months later, Musk said “automakers don’t believe Tesla Full Self-Driving is real”, but he claimed they will soon.

In 2024, Musk claimed that Tesla was in discussions with “one major automaker about licensing Full Self-Driving.”

Ford was rumored to be the automaker in question due to its limited effort in autonomous driving and the fact that it was the first automaker to initiate the adoption of Tesla’s charge connector as the new North American standard.

The rumors might have been true, as CEO Jim Farley confirmed that Ford was in talks with Tesla about self-driving during a talk at the Aspen Ideas Festival last week.

He said that he talked with Musk and admitted that both Waymo and Tesla have made progress toward self-driving, but he sees LIDAR, which Waymo uses but Tesla does not, as a critical part of self-driving.

Farley was directly asked what approach made more sense (via Fortune):

“To us, Waymo,” Farley said. He pointed out that both Waymo, owned by Google-parent Alphabet, and Tesla “have made a lot of progress” on self-driving, and Farley acknowledged that he has had conversations with Elon Musk. But he stated that Ford considered LiDAR to be an important part of the picture, noting that “where the camera will be completely blinded, the LiDAR system will see exactly what’s in front of you.”

Ford invested approximately $1 billion in Argo AI, a self-driving startup in partnership with Volkswagen. However, it ceased funding the company in 2022, and Argo AI was subsequently dissolved, with the two automakers integrating their technology.

After this setback, Ford said it would partner with self-driving companies once the technology is further developed.

Waymo has first been focused on developing its own vehicles for autonomous ride-hailing, while Tesla has been trying to bring consumer autonomous vehicles to market.

These different approaches have been reversing lately with Tesla launching a pilot program for its own autonomous ride-hailing fleet after years of failing making its consumer vehicles self-driving.

Meanwhile, Waymo has recently been securing deals with Toyota and Hyundai about integrating its self-driving technology into their consumer vehicles.

Electrek’s Take

Tesla shareholders have been hoping for those talks that Musk has been teasing for years to come to fruition, and have an automaker validate Tesla’s approach to self-driving.

It looks like it won’t be Ford and it looks like Ford might have been that “one major automaker” in discussion with Tesla.

As Farley put it, they want to take a careful approach to self-driving, and if that’s your goal, Tesla might not be the best partner.

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Clean energy stocks fall as Trump bill taxes components from China, phases out credits

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Clean energy stocks fall as Trump bill taxes components from China, phases out credits

Construction work on solar power arrays continues at rPlus Energies’ Green River Energy Center in Emery, Utah, U.S. June 11, 2025.

Jim Urquhart | Reuters

Clean energy stocks fell on Monday as President Donald Trump’s spending legislation now includes a tax on wind and solar projects using Chinese components and abruptly phases out key credits.

Shares of NextEra Energy, the largest renewable developer in the U.S., fell 4%. Solar stocks Array Technologies, Enphase and Nextracker were down between 4% and 9%.

The Senate is voting Monday on amendments to the legislation. The current draft ends the two most important tax credits for solar and wind projects placed in service after 2027.

“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted on X over the weekend. “Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.”

Previous versions of the bill were more flexible, allowing projects that began construction before 2027 to qualify for the investment and electricity production tax credits, according to Monday note from Goldman Sachs.

Compressed timelines

The change “compresses project timelines and adds significant execution risk,” Bank of America analyst Dimple Gosal told clients in a note Monday. “Developers with large ’25 pipelines, may struggle to meet the new deadlines — potentially delaying or downsizing planned investments.”

The Senate legislation also slaps a tax on solar and wind projects that enter service after 2027 if they use components made in China.

“The latest draft in the Senate has become more restrictive for most renewable players, moving toward a worst case outcome for solar and wind, with a few improvements for subsectors on the margin,” Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco told clients in a Sunday note.

To be sure, the rooftop solar industry is viewed by Wall Street as a relative winner from the bill, with Sunrun shares up more than 7% and SolarEdge trading more than 3% higher on Monday. The legislation seems to allow tax credits for leased rooftop systems to remain in place through the end of 2027, which was not the case in previous versions, according to Goldman Sachs.

And First Solar is up more than 7% as the legislation seems to allow the manufacturer to claim credits for both components and final products, according to Bank of America.

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