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This morning in metals news: Norsk Hydro recently resumed production at its Husnes aluminum plant; the Census Bureau recently released the latest data on new housing starts; and copper prices continue to rise.

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Norsk Hydro resumes production at Husnes B-line

Oslo-based Norsk Hydro announced the restarts of production at its Husnes aluminum plant after having operated at half capacity since 2009.

The A-line at Hydro’s Husnes plant produces about 95,000 tonnes of aluminum annually. Hydro added it will ramp up output to around 195,000 tonnes as it restarts 200 electrolysis cells in the one-kilometer-long B line.

Hydro President and CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim said the restarts are based on a “combination of increased demand for aluminum and expectations that Norway will continue to utilize EU’s emissions trading system (ETS) for 2021-2030.”

Strong October for housing starts

In addition to the Norsk Hydro news, U.S. housing starts reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.53 million in October. The October rate marked a 4.9% increase from September.

Furthermore, the October rate marked a 14.2% increase year over year.

Meanwhile, single-family housing starts in October hit a rate of 1.18 million, up 6.4% from September.

In addition, the October rate for units in buildings with five units or more hit 334,000.

Copper surges

Lastly, the copper price shows no signs of slowing down.

Positive news regarding potential COVID-19 vaccines and the beginnings of the presidential transition have seemed to stabilize and boost markets. In turn, the copper price has surged above $7,300 per metric ton.

The LME three-month copper price closed Tuesday at $7,314 per metric ton, marking a 7.17% month-over-month increase.

The MetalMiner 2021 Annual Outlook consolidates our 12-month view and provides buying organizations with a complete understanding of the fundamental factors driving prices and a detailed forecast that can be used when sourcing metals for 2021 — including expected average prices, support and resistance levels.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/agmetalminer/~3/ugj4KfXZyZ4/

In October this year, Japanese crude steel production was up by 11 percent compared to the previous month and fell by 11.7 percent compared to October 2019, totaling 7.20 million mt, according to the data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF).

Meanwhile, in the given month Japan’s pig iron production totaled 5.12 million metric tons, rising by 10.1 percent compared to the previous month and down by 16.1 percent year on year.

In the first 10 months of this year, the country’s pig iron output stood at 50.8 million metric tons, down by 19.4 percent, while its crude steel production came to 68.4 million metric tons, falling by 18.4 percent, both on year-on-year basis.

The production volume of some steel products in Japan can be seen in the chart below:

Source: https://www.steelorbis.com/steel-news/latest-news/japanese-crude-steel-output-up-11-in-october-from-september-1174523.htm

In October this year, Japanese crude steel production was up by 11 percent compared to the previous month and fell by 11.7 percent compared to October 2019, totaling 7.20 million mt, according to the data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF).

Meanwhile, in the given month Japan’s pig iron production totaled 5.12 million metric tons, rising by 10.1 percent compared to the previous month and down by 16.1 percent year on year.

In the first 10 months of this year, the country’s pig iron output stood at 50.8 million metric tons, down by 19.4 percent, while its crude steel production came to 68.4 million metric tons, falling by 18.4 percent, both on year-on-year basis.

The production volume of some steel products in Japan can be seen in the chart below:

Source: https://www.steelorbis.com/steel-news/latest-news/japanese-crude-steel-output-up-11-in-october-from-september-1174523.htm