Adobe Stock Here’s a quick rundown of news and thoughts from particular commodity markets, including positive signs of recovery in EU steel demand and consumption, battery metals demand, and much more.
MetalMiner, a sister site of ours, scours the landscape for what matters. This week:
EU steel demand shows signs of recovery
Global steel demand took a massive hit last year amid the onset of the Covid pandemic, as steelmakers and steel-using industries alike felt the economic impact.
However, with some easing of conditions, demand has recovered in many places, including the European Union.
According to the European Steel Association, apparent steel consumption in the EU28 rose by 3.6% in Q4 2020 and by 0.9% in Q1 2021.
“Although the general economic recovery in the EU appears to be uneven and exposed to risks, the recovery in steel-using industries and in steel demand should continue through 2021,” EUROFER Director General Axel Eggert said. “This is being driven by the stronger-than-expected recovery of industrial sectors, whose output is recovering the losses experienced during the pandemic.”
With that said, as with other sectors, the uptick in the delta Covid variant cases worldwide poses a significant risk for demand.
Holiday lull for hot rolled coil
Sticking with Europe and steel, hot rolled coil prices have been hot all summer (as we've noted in previous editions of this roundup).
However, of late, hot rolled coil prices in Western Europe have retraced amid the holiday season.
"Offers on hot rolled coil prices produced in Western Europe are now about €1,150 ($1,350) per metric ton exw for December delivery," MetalMiner contributor Christopher Rivituso reported. "That marked a drop of 4.2% from the €1,200 ($1,410) in July.
"Prices for cold rolled coil, a downstream product of hot rolled coil, normally carry a premium of €100-120 ($120-140) per metric ton."
US steel capacity dips to 84.9%
U.S. steel capacity utilization fell slightly, to 84.9% for the week ending Aug. 28, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported this week.
Total steel production for the week reached 1.87 million net tons. The total marked a 0.2% drop from the previous week.
However, steel output for the week increased by 26.9% on a year-over-year basis.
Battery metals demand on the rise
As the world transitions toward renewable sources of energy, the demand for battery metals will increase many times over.
South African palladium and platinum producer Sibanye-Stillwater, in its recent financial report, indicated rising demand is affecting the marketplace.
"While not yet having material impact on internal combustion engine vehicle sales, increasing demand for battery metals to meet requirements for electric vehicle production is already starting to have substantial implications for battery metal supply," the South African firm said.
US construction spending up in July
US construction spending reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,231 billion in July, the Census Bureau reported.
The July rate marked an increase of 0.3% from the previous month.
Meanwhile, spending through the first seven months of the year totaled $883.2 billion, up 6.2% year over year.
New orders for manufactured goods
In other positive economic indicators, new orders for manufactured goods rose again in July, the Census Bureau reported.
New orders ticked up by 0.4% in July, marking increases for 14 of the last 15 months.
Meanwhile, new orders rose by 1.5% in June.
Automotive sales slow in August
Although demand remains robust, automotive sales cooled in August amid low inventory and parts shortages.
The ongoing global semiconductor shortage has hampered automakers.
J.D. Power and LMC Automotive forecast August new-vehicle retails sales would come in down by 13.7% from August 2020. Furthermore, the drop increased to 25.3% from August 2019.
Meanwhile, auto sales in China declined in July for the third consecutive month. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported July sales fell by 11.9% year over year.
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