This year the post-global health crisis boom was brought to an end by a surge in inflation to forty-year highs, a major rise in global interest rates in an attempt to curb the rising prices and surging geopolitical risk after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While precious metals held up reasonably well as markets turned to them as a risk hedge, by Q2/22 the higher interest rates put an end to the surge in base metals prices that had lasted since 2021 on growing concerns that a recession would curb demand, while global health-crisis driven supply constraints started to ease.