Week in Review: Exchanges tackle electrification; HRC momentum slows; MW premium hits record

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, including competition between the COMEX and LME vis-á-vis electrification, consolidating copper prices, the upcoming MetalMiner 2020 Forecasting Workshop and much more:
Each month, MetalMiner hosts a webinar on a specific metals topic. Explore the upcoming webinars and sign up for each on the MetalMiner Events page.

Week of July 19-23 (electrification, hot rolled coil prices in Western Europe and much more)

• Stuart Burns on Europe’s environmental efforts, including proposals for tariffs on products from countries with less-stringent environmental regulations.
• Miner Rio Tinto reported its second-quarter production results.
• Russian steel group NLMK’s first-half steel production jumped by 10.8% year over year.
• Hot rolled coil prices in Western Europe have started to cool down.
• U.S. steel capacity utilization rose to 84.1% last week.
• The CME’s COMEX and the London Metal Exchange (LME) are preparing for the electrification revolution.
• Meanwhile, despite the the aforementioned electrification revolution and China’s own pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, China plans to add to its coal production capacity in the second half of this year.
• Global aluminum production picked up in June.
• MetalMiner’s Lisa Reisman and Don Hauser joined ROTH Capital Partners earlier this month in a wide-ranging webinar covering oil, macroeconomic indicators and metals markets.
• The annual MetalMiner Forecasting Workshop is coming up next month. In addition, MetalMiner is hosting a webinar next week during which participants can get a sneak peak of the workshop.
• Copper prices have stabilized in recent weeks.
• Meanwhile, the Midwest aluminum premium has soared to a record high, as U.S. and European buyers continue to face aluminum market tightness.
• Lastly, South Korean steelmaker POSCO posted robust Q2 2021 financial results.

Receive the latest short-term and long-term outlook for the full range of industrial metals (base and ferrous) at the annual MetalMiner Forecasting Workshop on Aug. 25.