The provided line chart illustrates the fluctuations in monthly prices for copper, nickel, and zinc throughout the year 2014.
Overall, the prices of copper and nickel witnessed declines, with nickel exhibiting the highest volatility among them. On the other hand, zinc experienced a moderate increase. As the period progressed, the changes became less drastic, indicating a stabilization in the market.
In January 2014, nickel exhibited a substantial month-to-month percentage change of 6%, surpassing both copper (2%) and zinc (1%) by a significant margin. However, this trend for nickel reversed in the following months, as the percentage changes dropped to 1% by March and reached a low of -3% by June. The divergences observed in the other metals were comparatively more moderate. Zinc experienced its highest change of 3% in February before entering a declining trend throughout the first half of the year. Similarly, copper prices also declined, with changes mostly ranging around 1% to -1%, slightly lower compared to the other metals.
During the second half of the year, nickel production experienced a decline, with most months seeing a decrease of -1%. However, towards the end of the year, there was a notable upturn as nickel prices rose, resulting in 1% increases. In contrast, copper prices remained relatively steady, hovering around 1% from July onwards, with a slight upward trend observed in December. Zinc, on the other hand, saw a slight decline of 0.5% for the majority of the latter part of the year, but it ended on a high note with a surge of 2% in December. This marked the highest ending point among all metal prices.