This Morning in Metals: U.S. Steel to restart Gary Works blast furnace

U.S. Steel to restart Gary Works blast furnace

U.S. Steel will restart another blast furnace at its Gary Works furnace, the Northwest Indiana Times reported.
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Citing U.S. Steel spokeswoman Meghan Cox, the Times reports the No. 8 blast furnace is scheduled to reopen as of Aug. 1.

U.S. imports of Japanese blooms, billets and slabs surge

According to data from the Steel Import and Monitoring Analysis system, U.S. imports of blooms, billets and slabs from Japan averaged 761 metric tons per month for the nine-month period from June 2019-February 2020.
However, the average monthly totaled surged 1,513% over the ensuing three-month period (March-May 2020) to an average of 12,283 metric tons per month.

Silver surges to seven-year high

Like gold, silver has proved to be an attractive safe-haven asset.
The sometimes overlooked silver surged above $23/ounce this week, reaching its highest level in seven years.
Last week, MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns weighed in on the silver price, asking the question of how much further upside it has.
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The answer, at least for now, is it still could have a ways to go.