Automotive producers the world over are facing challenges, but the U.K. automotive industry is arguably in the most challenging environment of all. Become part of the MetalMiner LinkedIn group and stay connected to trends we’re watching and interesting metal facts. U.K. automotive sector faces headwinds Over the last year, COVID-19 restrictions have closed showrooms. Furthermore, […]
Stuart Burns
Have we already seen peak iron ore prices for this year?
Iron ore — or at least iron ore producers — have had a pretty good pandemic. Get social with us. Follow MetalMiner on LinkedIn. Recovering iron ore output In Brazil, historic environmental restrictions and, at least in Q1 2020, heavy rains hampered Vale’s operations. In addition, the miner faced an ongoing impact on its workforce due […]
Brexit aftermath: U.K.-E.U. reach deal, but much is left to be decided
After four and a half years and unprecedented social and political discord, it has finally happened: the United Kingdom has left the European Union with the bare bones of a free trade agreement. More MetalMiner is available on LinkedIn. Bare bones free trade agreement It took until Christmas Eve — ahead of the Dec. 31 […]
After a difficult 2020 for oil, could it bounce back in 2021?
The oil price is caught between a short-term recovery and the medium-term prospect of peak oil, as countries ramp up programs to decarbonize by switching power generation sources and banning internal combustion engines (ICE). The oil price has been seesawing between vaccine optimism and pandemic pessimism. Yet, it has managed a gradual recovery from its […]
Could the pandemic achieve what President Trump’s trade war failed to do?
Could the coronavirus pandemic bring about more reshoring in the U.S.? The question is not just of interest in the U.S. By many measures, Europe has been hit as severely by the pandemic. If anything, Europe is even more reliant on global supply chains than the U.S. The political philosophy that underpinned the Trump administration’s […]
Chinese steel scrap imports could be market mover in 2021
There has been quite a bit of analyst chatter about the likely impact of China’s return to the steel scrap market next year. In 2019, the authorities essentially banned steel scrap imports. The move came, in part, because many of the grades were classified as waste. However, of late the rumor is China will be […]
Europe’s truck makers to ditch diesel engines as part of 2040 pledge
Recognizing the direction of flow and going with it is certainly a good survival tactic, particularly with respect to diesel engines. So the move by European truck makers to tackle the challenge of a continent-wide commitment to decarburization should be seen as a refreshing attempt to mold the narrative and future landscape rather than refusing […]
What will 2021 look like for commodities, equities and the dollar?
When Jim O’Neill, former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and a former U.K. treasury minister, posts his thoughts on what 2021 may bring for equities, commodities and the dollar, it is worth taking a few minutes to listen. Few economists have his level of both academic and practical experience in global financial markets. Over […]
Talk of Rusal sanctions ignites fears of 2018 delivery premium surge
Aluminum buyers will have read a recent announcement in Bloomberg with a sense of panic, if not déjà vu, as the specter of Rusal sanctions reportedly looms again. “Aluminum Surges on Concern U.S. May Reapply Rusal Sanctions” ran the headline, reminding buyers of the chaos that ensued in 2018. At that time, the Trump administration […]
Brexit trade deal talks go down to the wire
Among all the hullabaloo of COVID-19 infection rates and surging deaths, we may all be forgiven for having forgotten that a small but relatively important part of the European Union, Britain, formally leaves the bloc — that is, Brexit — in just over two weeks time with no formal separation agreement or coherent working plan […]
