Our Materials Price Index (MPI) rose 5.3% last week, its ninth consecutive increase. This is the fourth largest rise on record and occurs less than a month after the highest ever increase in the series (7.9%), with the MPI now at its highest level since April 2014. Every major sub-component of the MPI rose last week, with five of the ten posting increases of more than 5.0%. The energy index increased 5.5% as natural gas prices soared to the highest level ever recorded in the index. Asian spot prices reached $21.45/mmBtu having been as low as $1.82/mmBtu last spring. A perfect storm of the coldest Chinese winter since ... (full story)