Global commodity markets are being rattled again by a familiar force: China’s army of cash-rich investors, The Wall Street Journal reports. A renewed rush into Chinese commodity futures is encouraging wild swings in prices for products including coal, iron ore and rubber, raising concerns about the return of a speculation frenzy. The price paid for physical iron ore has […]
Category: Commodities
Brussels is taking fresh steps to unblock resistance in EU member states to higher US-style duties on steel allegedly dumped in European markets by China, the Financial Times reports. The attempt to revive a long-delayed plan to toughen EU penalties on dumped steel comes as a deadline approaches for China to be treated as a […]
Eight US senators have asked the Obama administration to take action against China over what they say are unfair subsidies to the Chinese aluminum industry. In an Oct. 21 letter to US Trade Representative Michael Froman, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, the senators said China’s “unfair trade practices” are “undermining the entire US aluminum […]
In a country that consumes half the world’s pork, price swings have become so large that they hurt the ability of domestic producers to keep up with demand, even with a herd of 450 million pigs. Imports are the highest ever and exceed all other buyers. The Dalian Commodity Exchange, China’s largest marketplace for everything […]
Efforts to trim excess capacity seem to have paid off as the steel industry appeared to have met more than 80% of its annual target by September and steel prices rebounded. This may sound like good news, but according to Caixin it does not necessarily mean that the sector is set for a recovery any […]