This Morning in Metals: Sliding Oil Price Gets a Jolt After Suspected Tanker Attacks

Oil Price Slide

After rising to around $75/barrel in April, the Brent crude price has come off of late, leading some to wonder how much further the oil price has to go.
Rainer Michael Preiss, executive director of Taurus Wealth Advisors, told CNBC the oil price could plunge to $45 barrel if U.S.-China trade tensions escalate.
However, the price got a jolt Thursday on the heels of an incident in the Gulf of Oman in which two tankers were damaged — media reports have referred to the incident as possible attacks, although that assessment is not yet confirmed and no group has claimed responsibility.
The Brent crude price was up 2.73% as of 10:23 a.m. CDT.
Liberty Steel Acquires Johnstown Wire Technologies
Liberty Steel, a subsidiary of steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, announced this week it had expanded its U.S. footprint with the acquisition of Johnstown Wire Technologies in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
“The 250-worker advanced manufacturing facility at Johnstown will complement Liberty’s melting and rolling operations at Georgetown, South Carolina and Peoria, Illinois and, combined with its scrap processing plant in Tampa, Florida, will firmly embed the business along the full value chain in the U.S. steel market,” Liberty Steel said in a prepared statement.

Clean Vehicles

As part of the bloc’s ongoing efforts aimed at curbing harmful emissions from automobiles, the E.U. announced it had adopted binding targets for zero- and low-emission vehicles in public procurement.
MetalMiner’s Annual Outlook provides 2019 buying strategies for carbon steel
“The new rules will increase market certainty, stimulate innovation and promote the global competitiveness of European industry,” an E.U. release stated. “Clean vehicles will play a key role in cutting greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutant emissions, helping the EU to meet its Paris Agreement commitments.”