Metals: Copper -2.8% to $4.20lb, Iron ore -0.47% to...

Metals: Copper -2.8% to $4.20lb, Iron ore -0.47% to US$220.05/t,

Energy: Brent crude -6.5% to US$68.8/bbl, WTI -7.5% to US$66.5/bbl

Key overnight stock moves: BHP LND -3.2%, Rio Tinto LND -3.0%, S32 (LDN) -4.5%, AAL -3.8%, GLEN -4.1%, Vale -3.3%, AA -4.0%, Shell -4.3%, BP -4.7%, XOM -3.4%, Chevron -2.7%, COP -3.2%

Global Indices: S&P 500 -1.59%, DOW -2.09% & FTSE -2.34%

Iron ore futures slid as China’s efforts to clean up the world’s biggest steel industry cast doubt on the strength of raw-material demand. China’s efforts to curb steel-related emissions through output cuts have not worked so far this year, but will likely tighten into the second half of the year, and an iron ore surplus is due to arrive in the fourth quarter. China has been ratcheting up its green push in the steel sector, which accounts for about 15% of the nation’s emissions. The industry has completed the first draft of its road map toward carbon neutrality, which is awaiting feedback from participants, the China Securities Journal reported, citing the China Iron & Steel Association. A spokesperson for CISA declined to comment on the draft when contacted by Bloomberg News. (Bloomberg)

Record steel prices inject life into long-suffering industry. There’s rarely been a better time to be in the steel business. Prices have boomed worldwide this year, smashing record after record. Roaring industrial demand is propelling those rallies, with plants straining to boost supply after lying dormant during the pandemic. On top of that, powerhouses China and Russia are trying to limit exports to help other industries at home. “If you’d asked me six months ago what was my most positive vision for the first half of 2021, I don’t think I would’ve even come close to the reality,” Carlo Beltrame, who manages Romania and France for AFV Beltrame, said in a phone interview. The closely-held company plans to build a 250 million-euro ($295 million) mill in Romania with the capacity to produce about 600,000 tons a year. (Bloomberg)

China’s steel industry has completed the first draft of its roadmap toward carbon neutrality, China Securities Journal reported the China Iron & Steel Association as saying. The association is also researching into carbon allowances allocation, chairman He Wenbo said at a conference on Saturday. No details of draft given in report. Draft is currently awaiting feedback from industry players. (Bloomberg)

Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources is getting a taste of its own medicine as iron ore miner GWR Group and other junior companies push to use the Port of Esperance on Western Australia’s south coast. Mineral Resources enjoys a monopoly on iron ore exports from Esperance in the wake of the WA’s Labor government supporting its acquisition of Cleveland-Cliffs’ Koolyanobbing iron ore operations three years ago. (AFR)