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This morning in metals news, U.S. imports of steel were down 20% through the first four months of the year, a primary aluminum production plant in Brazil part-owned by Norsk Hydro is restarting after an earlier power outage and China is importing U.S. copper concentrate after Chinese companies won tariff relief.
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Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was and the metals storylines here on MetalMiner:
photonewman/Adobe Stock
Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was and the metals storylines here on MetalMiner, including coverage of: copper prices, the automotive sector’s push to restart production, oil prices and more.
The rising exports of iron ore, especially pellets, from India has put steel manufacturers and exporters at loggerheads.
According to official figures, India’s ore exports between January and March 2020 were 8.9 million tons against 2.0 million tons during the same period last year. In fiscal year 2020, exports were at 25.14 million tons, up from 16.2 million tons the previous year.
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Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look at the week that was and some of the metals storylines here on MetalMiner, including coverage of: copper production; aluminum tariff exclusion reform; the nickel market; global steel production; and much more.
photonewman/Adobe Stock
This morning in metals news, Arconic Corporation announced it expects to resume operations at its Tennessee facility this week, BHP is looking to expand its iron ore exports from the Port Hedland terminal and China Baowu Steel Group surpassed ArcelorMittal in 2019 as the world’s top steel producer.
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This morning in metals news, Brazilian miner Vale’s iron ore production dropped 18% in Q1, U.S. total energy exports exceeded imports in 2019 and China has imposed new scrap import quotas.
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While the U.S. and China earlier this year announced a so-called “phase one” trade deal, questions remained about commitments and the enforcement of the deal’s provisions.
As such, despite forestalling the implementation of new planned tariffs, the U.S. opted to maintain the bulk of the previously imposed tariffs on Chinese goods, amounting to roughly $370 billion.
At the time, President Donald Trump said the U.S. would leave the tariffs in place, but could remove them if a phase two deal is struck; however, it remembers to be seen when, or if, such a deal will be reached between the world’s two largest economies.
The U.S. Department of Commerce. qingwa/Adobe Stock
This morning in metals news, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) made a negative determination in the ongoing anti-dumping probe of fabricated structural steel imports, the Pilbara Ports Authority released January shipment data and Norsk Hydro will offer aluminum solutions for ships under construction for a Norwegian shipowner.
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Steel rebar is a crucial material for its use in construction, which is often cited in surveys of general economic health and activity.
For instance, U.S. construction spending in December reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,327.7 billion, down 0.2% from November and up 5.0% compared with December 2018 spending.