Adobe Stock Here’s a quick rundown of news and thoughts from particular commodity markets, including US steel production, lithium-ion batteries, the early part of this week's oil price rally and much more.
MetalMiner, a sister site of ours, scours the landscape for what matters. This week:
Copper mine production
Although supply-side concerns have arisen recently on the heels of strike actions at mines in South America, copper mine production through the first five months of the year increased by 4.8%, the International Copper Study Group reported.
Top producer Chile's output fell by 2%. Meanwhile, No. 2 copper producer Peru saw its output rise by 17%.
Global refined production picked up by 4% during the period.
Lithium-ion battery challenges
Lithium-ion batteries are positioned to be a significant part of the world's energy future.
However, as with many newer technologies, there have been some setbacks.
MetalMiner's Stuart Burns this week delved into General Motors' recall of 2017-2022 Chevy Bolt models for battery replacement.
"News late last week that General Motors is to recall all 2017 to 2022 Chevy Bolt EVs for battery replacements, saying the LG-supplied batteries could have not one but two serious defects with the result they are at risk of causing fires. As a result, LG’s share price plunged by 10% overnight," he wrote.
"GM is to replace the battery modules after two separate incidents of batteries exploding, despite earlier assurances that it was only older Bolts with US-made batteries that had the problem. The recall now also includes those fitted with batteries made in South Korea."
Steel capacity utilization reaches 85.0%
After dipping in the previous couple of weeks, US steel capacity utilization bounced back to 85.0% for the week ending Aug. 21, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported.
US steel output during the week totaled 1,877,000 net tons. The total marked an increase of 0.4% from the previous week and 27.2% on a year-over-year basis.
For the year to date, US steel output reached 60,173,000 net tons, up 19.8% year over year, AISI reported.
Global aluminum production rises
Global aluminum production reached an estimated 5.75 million tons in July, the International Aluminum Institute (IAI) reported this month.
The total marked an increase from 5.57 million tons in June.
Top aluminum producer China saw its production rise to 3.34 million tons in July, up from 3.24 million tons in June.
The aluminum market remains extremely tight, which has contributed to a surge in physical delivery premiums (like the Midwest premium). The World Bureau of Metal Statistics estimated the global aluminum market deficit reached 1,021 kt for the first half of the year.
US steel imports rise
Meanwhile, turning back to steel, US steel imports in July reached 2.7 million metric tons, the Census Bureau reported.
The total marked an increase from 2.6 million metric tons the previous month.
US steel imports increase from Canada, Brazil, South Korea and Russia, among others. Meanwhile, imports from Japan and Mexico declined during the month.
Oil prices creep back up
The surging Delta variant dampened oil demand and, in turn, oil prices. The WTI crude price, for example, rose to around $75 per barrel to start July before dipping to $62 per barrel.
However, prices showed some resilience this week.
According to the Energy Information Administration, the WTI price closed Wednesday at $68.36 per barrel. The price marked an increase of $2.90 per barrel from the previous week. Furthermore, the price point came in up by $25.01 per barrel from the same point in 2020.
The OPEC basket price closed Wednesday at $70.59, up from $66.13 to close last week.
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