Satori, you note "On another note, the JTC and any mention of the MOU from what I could see were conspicuous by their absence..".
Well, it was a release titled "metallurgical results", not a general update so we perhaps we shouldn't be that surprised. As posted earlier, Tony also called the JTC during the days after the earthquake/tsunami and was reassured that their production facilities were unaffected.
That said, I accept that we can't be 100% reassured. What we don't know (yet) is the impact on short term demand for JTC refined product, particularly the major Japanese car assemblers reliant upon sub component manufacturers, some of which may be in the affected areas. (it may only take the lack of one subcomponent to stop an entire assembly line).
We also don't know the full impact on short term (<1 year) electricity supplies of the nuclear crisis. Metal smelting and processing facilities use a lot of power.
That said, in the medium/long term I think earlier posters are correct, the rebuild program will need a lot of iron, power will come back on line and Japanese manufacturers will eventually get their supply chains sorted out.
Lastly, I have little doubt that even if the Japanese were to walk away from the non binding MOU, all indications point to others waiting in the wind to replace them.
PLV Price at posting:
84.6¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
