This Morning in Metals: Chinese Steel, Aluminum Production Hit Record Highs
This morning in metals news, China hit record steel and aluminum production numbers in June as the world awaits the Trump administration’s Section 232 investigation results, the copper deficit could deepen amid further strikes and things are looking good for gold on Monday.
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China Posts Record Steel, Aluminum Outputs in June
Ever since the Trump administration announced its opening of Section 232 investigations into steel and aluminum imports in April, the world has waited to see whether new tariffs or import quotas could be on their way.
The major focus of the investigations has been Chinese excess capacity in the global market, which the administration might strike at via protectionist measures.
The Chinese steel and aluminum industries, meanwhile, showed no signs of slowing down in June.
According to Reuters, China produced record amounts of the metals last month: 73.23 million tons of steel and 2.93 million tons of aluminum.
Copper Deficit Deepens
According to Reuters, the copper deficit is likely to deepen this year as further strikes are expected in South America; however, those strikes have already been priced in, according to the report.
Even so, the strikes are not likely to produce a rise in the copper price, according to a Reuters poll of 26 analysts.
According to the report, LME copper is up 8% on the year.
Gold Looking Up
Gold might be in for some good news during the remainder of 2017.
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According to Reuters, gold broke its 200-day moving average and could be in for further gains as a result of a slumping dollar.
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