The Renewables MMI (Monthly Metals Index) continued to plateau, moving sideways with only a slight 1.29% drop. Currently, there isn’t enough bullish or bearish price action to yank the index too far out of its sideways trend. The historically volatile movements of grain-oriented electrical steel prices are currently the only factor adding any significant volatility […]
Category: Global Trade
Iron Ore Prices Sink Below $100 as China’s Steel Mills Face Crisis
Iron ore prices hit the headlines again after dipping below the psychological barrier of US $100 per ton this Monday. It was the fourth time it crossed the threshold in a fortnight. This recent drop was nearly 30% below iron ore’s peak of $144 a ton, which it achieved in January this year. As a […]
Europe’s Answer to China’s Rare Earth Monopoly
Rare earth elements and semiconductors have taken on that critical national development role once occupied by oil and petroleum products. Despite the ongoing U.S.-China competition, the latter country controls a full 90% of the global rare earths supply, transforming these elements into potential political weapons. With regard to semiconductors, China’s Civilian-Military Integration Strategy aims to […]
Automotive MMI: EV Demand Failing to Boost Overall Metal Demand
The Automotive MMI (Monthly Metals Index) maintained a steady sideways trend month-over-month, only moving down 2.53%. Overall steel demand remains tepid, which left little bullish sentiment for hot-dipped galvanized steel. Meanwhile, other metals prices, including copper, dropped after their speculative rallies cooled off in July. Overall, the components of the automotive index had little to […]
Global Steel Prices Plunge as China Floods Market with Excess Supply
Would it be an exaggeration to say that the world’s steel narrative is unfolding in China? Everywhere one looks, there are steel industry experts complaining about Chinese steelmakers unloading their excess steel products. Take this report published at nikkei.com, which predicts that China could end the calendar year with a record-high export total, somewhere over […]
Will China’s Latest Rare Earths Finds Set the Stage for Tech Domination?
Chinese geologists recently discovered two new minerals – oboniobite and scandio-fluoro-eckermannite – at Inner Mongolia’s Bayan Obo, the world’s largest rare earths mine. According to media reports, the discovery was a joint effort by the CAS Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union Co., Ltd., Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths, and […]
Copper Shortage Fears Ignite Once Again as Global Demand Projected to Skyrocket
By now, the world knows that although the current global copper reserves are sufficient to meet demand, extraction continues to lag behind consumption. As a result, many inside and outside the copper market fear there will be a shortage in the coming years. Predictions say that the annual global demand for copper will increase by […]
Flood of Cheap Steel Imports Sets off Alarm Bells for India
It seems all the fears expressed by Indian steelmakers (and policymakers) are coming true. There just seems to be no stopping the flood of cheap steel imports into domestic markets, a problem that continues to cause great agony for Indian steel manufacturing leaders. India became a net importer of steel in the first quarter of […]
Aluminum MMI: Aluminum Prices Sideways Following U.S. Tariffs
Overall, the Aluminum Monthly Metals Index (MMI) retraced, with a 4.67% decline from June to July. Aluminum prices continued to decline before finding a bottom in mid-June at their lowest level since mid-April. Overall, this reflected a 6.86% drop from June to July. Prices began to move sideways in mid-June, although the bias remains to […]
Raw Steels MMI: Steel Prices Bearish as U.S., Mexico Take Action on Chinese Steel
The Raw Steels Monthly Metals Index (MMI) fell 4.5% from June to July. Although the pace of declines appeared to slow from the previous month, U.S. flat rolled steel prices remained bearish during June. HRC prices fell nearly 7%, followed by an almost 5% decline in HDG prices and a modest 2% drop in CRC […]
