then they will hopefully start to drop a little at a time.
This has been the quote since the first Key rise when they hit 3 Ref.
"They'll go back down, it's just a phase..."
The fact remains that there is more and more Metal being pumped into the game via new players, idle accounts etc etc.
The main aspect of all of these price changes is the monetary worth of the item, the monetary value of Keys has been the same since day one, albeit there has been a few fluctuations either way occasionally. But the monetary value of Refined metal has been dropping since more and more players started joining the game.
For example: If Refined was being sold for say 10 cents? Why would a person then sell a Key worth $2.50 for say, 5 Refined, which is 50 cents? As the real world cash value of refined drops, the refined value of Keys rises.
It's all about supply and demand.
The supply of Refined is rising exponentially, the demand is lowering as more people leave the game.