Week in Review: Stainless demand; global crude steel production; tin prices

Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was and some of the metals storylines here on MetalMiner, including stainless demand, a drop in global crude steel production and much more:
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Week of July 26-30 (stainless demand remains robust, global steel output drops and more)

• Stainless steel demand and market tightness are helping to support nickel prices, MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns explained this week.
• Steel Dynamics reported net income of $702 million in the second quarter.
• Meanwhile, U.S. steel imports jumped by 13% month over month in June.
• While other base metals have settled into sideways trends, tin prices have soared to record levels.
• The U.S. steel capacity utilization rate reached 84.6% last week, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported this week.
• European buyers are facing unprecedented levels of supply chain disruptions and cost increases, Burns explained.
• Global crude steel production in June fell by 4% from the previous month, the World Steel Association reported.
• Rio Tinto announced it will commit $2.4 billion in funding toward a lithium-borates project in Serbia.
• How much should a city garbage can really cost? Some recent news out of San Francisco got the MetalMiner team thinking.
• The Federal Reserve this week said it would hold off on increasing the federal funds rate.
• U.S. GDP increased at an annual rate of 6.5% in the second quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported.
• The elevated aluminum Midwest Premium is likely here to stay for a while.
• Lastly, China is increasing export tariffs on some steel products and removing export tax rebates for 23 steel products, Reuters reported.

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