Only a few years ago, analysts and investors were aflutter with talk of a new “supercycle” in commodities. Some believed the world was about to repeat a surge in raw-material prices that began in the early 2000s, and lasted until the global financial crisis of 2007-09. This time the prompt was meant to be a mixture of a fast economic recovery, as the West emerged from covid-19 lockdowns, combined with a shift to green energy.