Week in Review: Shipping sector woes; oil prices fall; Toyota announces production cuts

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:
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Week of Aug. 16-20 (shipping sector disruptions, Chinese steel prices and more)

• Conditions in the global shipping sector remain fairly bleak, Stuart Burns explained.
• The Energy Information Administration forecast U.S. natural gas exports will exceed imports this year.
• Burns on the Chinese steel sector and price movements.
• Oil prices have fallen of late but might not remain down for long.
• U.S. steel capacity utilization fell to 84.7% last week, the American Iron and Steel Institute reported.
• The U.K. opted to uphold anti-dumping duties on welded tube and pipe imports from Belarus and China.
• The copper price has been on the decline of late after hitting an all-time high in May.
• U.S. industrial production picked up in July, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest report.
• Bangkok-based Banpu is buying a power plant in Texas.
• U.S. housing starts dropped by 7.0% in July, the Census Bureau reported.
• Swedish steelmaker SSAB announced the delivery of what it called the world’s first “fossil-free” steel.
• Meanwhile, Burns checked in on the tin market, as the tin price has skyrocketed this year.
• Lastly, Toyota on Thursday announced plans to slash production in September.

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