Before you get into your planned Labor Day festivities, let’s take a look back at some of the stories here on MetalMiner from the past week:
- After a somewhat stagnant run, aluminum had a strong August — why? Our Stuart Burns covered aluminum’s upward momentum last week.
- Ah, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the deal that’s stayed in the news for much of the year. President Donald Trump recently renewed rhetoric threatening the 23-year-old trade agreement on the heels of the completion of the first round of negotiating talks held in Washington, D.C. We recapped the recent developments in the ongoing talks held by trade representatives of the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
- Speaking of trade agreements, talks are also underway between the U.S. and South Korea on KORUS, the free trade deal the two countries began in 2012.
- China was reportedly amenable to making further significant cuts to tackle excess capacity, which has been a major talking point, not just for the U.S., but the global market. However, President Trump rejected China’s proposal. Burns offered his analysis on the situation.
- It’s been a mostly good year for base metals — but not every metal has joined in on the fun, as our Irene Martinez Canorea wrote last week.
- Hurricane Harvey inflicted a severe toll on the people of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. Now, there’s a long road ahead to recovery, both in terms of the humanitarian and economic impacts of the storm.
- Burns looked to the the so-called “lucky country” of Australia, which is rich in iron ore. But what happens when iron ore reserves are exhausted? Answering the question briefly: look to the sun.