4 March 2022 – Chinese steel and stainless steel prices are currently rising significantly again. Spot prices in China have risen between 3 and 4% today. Base metals continue to rise due to strong demand, tight inventories and the conflict in Ukraine. And is India circumventing the global sanctions against Russia? A commentary.
Chinese steel and stainless steel prices rise sharply
Chinese steel mills have raised prices for CRC and HDG by up to 3% in some cases. Higher raw material costs and bullish demand have contributed to the price hikes.
Stainless steel: Spot prices in China up by up to 4%
Spot prices for Chinese stainless steel have risen in recent days and shot up by up to 4% on Friday. Again, a significant increase in demand and very tight stocks of raw materials, such as nickel, are being cited as reasons.
LME Base Metals continue to rise
Nickel and aluminium continued their strong rise on the LME today. Nickel opened just short of $28,800 per tonne at the start of trading. Aluminium also opened just below $3,900 per tonne, moving closer and closer to our forecast of $4,000. But copper (+2.1%) and zinc (+2.84%) also continue to make significant gains.
SHFE nickel up 3.5%
On the SHFE, nickel had also already risen by more than 3.5% in some cases today. The market could soon go even higher for aluminium if more and more cables are made of aluminium to replace copper, which is currently very expensive. Demand for aluminium from the Chinese renewable energy sector has probably already increased significantly.
Is India circumventing the global sanctions against Russia?
A commentary by Thorsten Gerber
The world community has impressively demonstrated that it does not agree with Russia’s military action against Ukraine. The UN General Assembly on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favour of a resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The United States, the European Union and many other partner countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia to stop the dying in Ukraine. Among other things, Russian banks have been largely excluded from the international SWIFT system.
Conflict threatens global stability
Repeated threats have now been made by the Russian side that if Nato were to become involved in the conflict, the use of nuclear weapons could no longer be ruled out. Last night there were reports that Russian troops were shelling the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporizhzhya in Ukraine, and that a fire had broken out. According to reports from the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, however, there was no increased radiation. Fortunately for all of us.
India abstains from UN resolution
India is considered a close partner of Russia. India, like several other countries, abstained from the UN resolution against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Shortly after the start of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, there were reports that the Indian government was considering how the country could circumvent the international sanctions – especially against the transfer of money.
Is India the right partner for the EU?
Only last year, India was considered the new important partner for the European Union. The importance of close cooperation between the EU and India, the two largest democracies with many of the same values, was being trumpeted by the press and the highest authorities on both sides. Precisely because at that time China was no longer Europe’s best friend.
Circumventing sanctions just to do business
India, however, seems to share the EU’s values only to a limited extent, if in the face of the nuclear threats from Russia, they still intend to circumvent the sanctions. Only to be able to do business in the darkest hours of recent history.
“The world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not for everyone’s greed.”
Ghandi
Thorsten Gerber, CEO Gerber Group
Latest news:
- Nickel and aluminium prices race away
- Slump in Russian raw material deliveries
- Diversification, learnings from pandemic and politics
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Disclaimer: Many things here represent our opinion. Others are information from the Internet. We can therefore never claim to be correct or complete. And never base a business decision solely on the news you receive from us.
