Brazilian metals and mining company Vale (NYSE:RIO) has canceled its iron ore shipments to China until the country’s steelmakers cough up more dough. But China has other ideas. Vale may find its products aren’t as vital as it originally thought, says Stephanie Grimmett.

The base metals were all in positive territory on Friday. Copper spiked sharply higher during the pre-dawn hours, dropped off a little after the New York open, then traded dead flat through the day, finishing at $3.2086/lb., up 11 2/3 cents.

The base metals were mixed on Wednesday. Copper hit its peak just before the New York open but fell into negative territory from there and never escaped, finishing at $3.0991/lb., down a penny and a third. Nickel had a big dip around mid-morning, but recovered nicely to close at at $7.9122/lb., up nearly 3½ cents.

The base metals were all in the red on Tuesday. Copper bottomed at $3.07 around mid-morning and, though it rallied from there, failed to reach break-even, finishing at $3.1126/lb., down 4½ cents.

Mining is an expensive business. So if commodities prices fall sharply many mines are forced to close rather than operate at a loss. When this happens supply tightens and prices begin to recover. Chris Mayer says there are signs this is happening now… and a rally in mining stocks is on its way.

Taipan Publishing’s Sara Nunnally thinks we are seeing the first wave of renewable energy investments in Latin America. The region is one of the fastest growing in today’s global economy, and countries like Chile are turning to wind and solar power to boost local energy capacity. However, ongoing political and instability in the region makes any new venture risky, so Sara recommends sticking to established European firms for solid profit opportunities…

The resource rich Canadian markets essentially flatlined during Tuesday trading as bank earnings took centre stage.

The base metals were all in the red on Tuesday. Copper was off sharply in the pre-dawn hours, rallied during New York morning trading, but then faded again to finish at $3.4691/lb., down 9 2/3 cents.

The base metals were mostly higher on Monday. Copper moved higher, finishing at $3.5657/lb., up nearly 5 cents from Friday. Nickel also gained, closing at $9.526/lb., up 15 cents. Zinc traded spottily, ending little changed at $0.819/lb. up three-quarters of a cent.

We are seeing mob behavior in the financial markets, says Al Robinson in The Daily Reckoning Australia. The country’s main stock exchange, the ASX, is following the Dow Jones Index on its various ups and (more frequent) downs this year.