The line graph illustrates the average monthly percentage changes in the prices of copper, nickel, and zinc for the year 2014. Overall, nickel experienced the highest degree of volatility with a significant decline over the course of the year. Copper also saw a downward trend, while zinc demonstrated a steady but modest rise. By the end of 2014, fluctuations across all three metals had become less pronounced.
Nickel exhibited the most dramatic shifts in price throughout the period. In the beginning of the year in January, the price of nickel surged by 6% compared to the previous month, substantially surpassing the increases recorded for copper (2%) and zinc (1%). However, this increase in price did not remain for long as nickel’s price change dropped rapidly over the following months, falling to just 1% in March and reaching a low point of -3% in June. In contrast, zinc’s price initially peaked at 3% in February before declining gradually during the first half of the year, whereas copper’s changes were more restrained, remaining largely between 1% and -1% up until July.
During the latter half of the year, nickel continued to fluctuate, hovering around -1% for much of the period, before rebounding to a 1% positive change in December. Copper, meanwhile, maintained a relatively stable trend with minor month-to-month variations, typically close to the 1% mark and ending with a slight increase by the end of the year. Similarly, zinc saw small declines of approximately 0.5% each month in the second half of the year, but concluded with a significant 2% rise in December, acheiving the highest closing value among the three metals for that month.