Energy transition requires huge amounts of critical metals —called energy transition metals (ETMs)— to deploy clean energy technologies. The growing demand for ETMs and uncertainties regarding the path to net-zero emissions could cause ETM price oscillations, with potential effects on the prices of other commodities. We explore whether upward and downward movements in ETM prices have a neutral effect on the level and volatility of energy and non-energy commodity prices. By characterizing the conditional dependence between ETM and commodity prices, we document that, except for natural gas, extreme ETM price changes have a non-neutral effect on commodity prices, although this effect vanishes for non-extreme price movements. The implications of this evidence for investors operating in commodity markets are evaluated in terms of commodity risk-adjusted returns, commodity tail risk, and liquidity needs for trading in commodity futures contracts. •We examine whether ETM price upward and downward movements have a neutral effect on commodity prices.•We characterize conditional dependence between ETM and commodity prices.•Extreme ETM price changes have a non-neutral effect on energy and non-energy commodity prices and volatility.•ETM price movements around median values have negligible effects on commodity prices.•Commodity risk-adjusted returns, tail risk, and liquidity needs can be improved by considering ETM markets.