July 19, 2022 – Nickel is currently continuing to rise neatly on SHFE and also on the LME. Already yesterday, nickel went up more than 6.5% on the LME. The US Aluminum Association has filed an anti-circumvention case against flat rolled aluminum originating in China. Salzgitter AG with 700 million euros investment in green steel. Is the green mud fight about the biggest investment coming or is it still much ado about nothing?
Nickel continues to rise, SHFE stocks at record lows
Nickel prices continued to rise today, Tuesday, on the SHFE. Currently, the most traded nickel contract is up about 3.2%. In particular, Chinese spot market nickel had reacted in response to the significantly increased prices on the LME (+6.5%), but also to the news that inventories on the SHFE have fallen to a record low and subsequently increased by more than 5.7%.
And also the LME shows this morning in the nickel prices with currently about 1.6% in the plus. Positive mood shows effect.
Side note: Euro gains more than 1% against the dollar this morning.
US: Aluminum Anti-Circumvention Investigation Requested
The US Aluminum Association’s Trade Enforcement Working Group and its individual members alleged in a recent filing with the Commerce Department that Chinese exporters and producers are circumventing the unfair trade orders on flat-rolled aluminum products from China.
“The U.S. aluminum industry has made a commitment to rigorously monitor and enforce unfair trade laws to ensure a level playing field for domestic producers,” said Charles Johnson, president & CEO of the Aluminum Association. “We are confident that the Commerce Department will promptly review our petition and take appropriate action to ensure that unscrupulous exporters are not circumventing U.S. law.”
Aluminum Association with a lot of clout
The Commerce Department will evaluate the association’s allegation in the coming weeks to determine whether to initiate an inquiry into the alleged behavior. The influential Aluminum Association is responsible for various AD/CVD measures in the United States and also helped establish the U.S. Aluminum Import Monitoring.
Anti-circumvention proceedings likely
It is therefore likely that the Commerce Department will grant the Aluminum Association’s request and initiate an appropriate anti-circumvention proceeding against imports of flat-rolled aluminum originating in China.
EU steel producer with much ado about nothing?
German steel producer Salzgitter AG says it has received Supervisory Board approval for a 723 million euro investment program, financed from its own resources, for the transition to green steel production. At the same time, however, Salzgitter in Lower Saxony is counting on the state, without which it usually never seems to work in the steel industry.
Is anything happening at all with green steel?
According to sources, this is the biggest investment in green steel ever. Larger projects announced by competing steel producers such as LKAB, SSAB or ArcelorMittal, for example, have apparently not even been approved to date.
Much ado about nothing?
The question that arises here is how much ado about nothing can you actually make? Because in Salzgitter, too, not much seems to have happened yet. Presumably the check from the state is still missing.
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