Stainless steel scrap 304 turnings, dealer buying price, delivered to yard Detroit, US cents/lb

The availability of relatively untapped resources, a huge influx of Chinese investment and a rapid licensing system have helped the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to become one of the world’s three key producers of copper.

US President-elect Donald Trump’s second term in office will hit the US steel market hard and fast, delegates heard at Fastmarkets’ second annual Circular Steel Summit on Wednesday January 15 in Houston, Texas.

Investment shortfalls, aggravated by recent poor performance in commodities markets, political and economic instability and surging demand, have sown the seeds for the next commodity bull cycle, leading to “metal shocks” in a similar vein to the “oil shocks” of the 1970s, according to economist Philippe Gijsels, chief strategy officer at BNP Paribas Fortis.