Week in Review: Copper prices; British Steel roadblock; U.S. auto sales

Fouad Egbaria | Posted on February 7, 2020 |

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 prices and the coronavirus’ impact; European steel consumption; Jingye’s British Steel takeover bid; U.S. steel production; automotive sales and more.
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Copper prices have been sliding, especially as the world continues to monitor China’s coronavirus outbreak.
The European Steel Association said European apparent steel consumption fell 3.1% year over year in Q3 2019.
U.S. construction spending dipped by 0.2% in December compared with spending the previous month.
French objections pose another challenge to Jingye Group’s attempted takeover bid of the insolvent British Steel.
U.S. steel production jumped 1.9% during the week ending Feb. 1.
MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns surveyed the state of commodities markets.
U.S. automotive sales were down across the board in 2019.
The U.S. trade deficit ticked up in December compared with the previous month.
India’s annual budget could provide good news for the country’s steel sector.
The struggles of South Africa’s mining sector have had a ripple effect throughout the rest of the country’s economy.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the value of U.S. non fuel mineral production rose by 3% in 2019 compared to 2018.