How nickel, cobalt and graphite have performed in 2017

Some commodities that are used as components to make lithium-ion batteries have underperformed this year, but that has started to change in the second half.

Here's a look at cobalt, nickel and graphite.

BHP (BHP), RIO (RIO) Jump on Rising Commodity Prices

Rising gold, silver and copper prices are pushing up the share price of diversified miners BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) and Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO), as safe haven status and growing copper demand offers the commodities support and growth.

Copper demand and prices are rising on the fact that Japan will need a tremendous amount to rebuild the country. Other commodities like aluminum and steel will also generate strong demand over time.

Gold is up on the various geo-political and economic crises around the world, with the never-ending sovereign debt crisis in the EU again adding fuel to the fire.

Silver continues to rise on an alternative to gold as well as demand as an industrial metal.

BHP was trading at $ 90.94, gaining $0.92, or 1.02 percent, as of 2:20 PM EDT. Rio Tinto was at $68.57, up $1.05, or 1.56 percent.

Jim Rogers Picking for New Commodity-Based Index

Jim Rogers has been chosen by A unit of China's CITIC Group and Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) to pick companies operating in the resources sectors.

Called the Rogers Global Resources Equity Index (RGREI), it'll include companies in agriculture, alternative energy, forestry, energy and metals, and mining, according to Gao Ang, COO of CITIC Carbon Asset Management, a new division of CITIC.

The index will represent a total of 200 stocks when it's filled.

BBVA head of equities, Eugene Lee, said there is already an institutional base of clients in Latin America with a strong interest in investing in a commodity index like the Rogers Global Resources Equity Index.

Rogers has his own index fund, the Rogers International Commodities Index (RICI), and has lent his name to a Macquarie index fund as well - the Macquarie and Rogers™ China Agriculture Index.

Jim Rogers Says Producers are New Money Centers

Talking recently at the Reuters 2011 Investment Outlook Summit in New York, Jim Rogers continued his mantra of high gold and commodity prices, along with the probability financial centers like London and New York will shrink in influence, and countries with strong commodity and/or raw material resources and focus will flourish.

Rogers maintains his prediction of gold rising above $2,000 an ounce and the Chinese renminbi becoming the strongest currency in the world.

"The city of London and Wall Street are not going to be great places to be in the next two or three decades. It's going to be the people who produce real goods," said Rogers.

"Throughout history we've had long periods when the financial centers were in charge," he added. "But we've also had long periods when people who produced real goods were in charge - the farmers and the miners."

Those in the media interviewing Rogers always smile at Rogers when he mentions raw materials, and especially farming, as a major force going forward, thinking he's joking with them when in reality he's totally serious.

Rogers cited Canada as a place to invest and which will continue to grow strong. He didn't mention them this time around, but Brazil is another obvious country which will strongly benefit from commodities, along with Australia, if they don't impose draconian taxes and regulations on miners.

The U.S. could also become important in the area of natural gas, especially as exporters, but they'll have to build out their infrastructure in order to take advantage of the soaring demand for natural gas.

Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) Shrugs Off China's Higher Interest Rate Announcement

The announcement from the Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China that they'll probably raise interest rates soon in order to continue their battle against rising inflation didn't have much impact on Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO), which announced they're going to continue to expand spending through 2011 to $11 billion, close to three times what they're spending in 2010.

The story of China is sometimes misunderstood or overreacted to, as even though they may cut back on spending and tighten their spending, it's a matter of degree, and they're still going to grow strongly, although probably not at the pace they have been.

Demand for some raw materials may fall, but China also likes to stockpile as well, so it's hard to tell the depth of the decline in imports they make in relationship to commodities.

Rio knows that China will continue to buy over time, and whatever steps they take in the short term does nothing to change the demand for commodities over the long term which is far from being exhausted.

Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese sees there being more volatility in the short to mid-term. He said, “The long-term picture remains very positive for our businesses, but there remain a number of risks in the mid-to- near term, and for us this points to continued volatility.”

Of the approximate $11 billion budget projected for 2011, about 40 percent of that will be set aside for the iron ore sector.

Teck Resources (NYSE:TCK) Outperforms Diversified Mining Peers

While their major competitors were all dropping in share price on Wednesday, Teck Resources (NYSE:TCK) was able to carve out a good day as their share price rose, and the company said they're going to raise their dividend by an additional 50 percent.

Raising dividends usually gives a company a boost as it signals they're confident in their ability to generate earnings for shareholders in the period ahead.

It also implies they believe commodity prices will continue to rise in the future.

Tech has had to hold back their dividend because of their acquisition of Fording in the middle of 2008, when they took on $9.8 billion in short-term debt to finance the deal. Tech paid that off earlier in 2010.

Chief Executive Officer Don Lindsay said, "This dividend increase reflects our confidence in our current balance sheet strength and our ability to fund our strong portfolio of growth assets."

Gold Prices Drop Slightly

Gold Prices Down Slightly

Gold prices slipped from two-week highs on Friday as the euro eased after gaining against the dollar the previous day, with activity subdued due to Easter holidays in many Asian and most European markets.

As the global economic recovery becomes more evident, gold may come under pressure, with investors turning to other commodities which traditionally gain on strengthening industrial demand such as platinum and palladium, traders said.

"Gold will be seen as an underperformer when the economic outlook brightens, with investors showing more interest in other commodities which benefit from rising industrial demand," said Wakako Harada, a senior trader at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.

Rest of gold prices story:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62H1MP20100402