[Ferro-Alloys.com] According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Chinese auto sales in February plunged 79.1% year on year to only 310,000 units. Automakers and suppliers generally deferred the resumption of their manufacturing businesses, which no doubt resulted in the flagging outputs. 

In an emergency move on Sunday, US Federal Reserve announced that it is dropping its benchmark interest rate to zero and launching a new round of quantitative easing entailing USD 700 billion worth of asset purchases of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities. The new fed funds rate, used as a benchmark both for short-term lending for financial institutions and as a peg to many consumer rates, will now be targeted at 0% to 0.25% down from a previous target range of 1% to 1.25%.

The European Steel Association has greeted the release of the Circular Economy Action plan. The sector believes the Action Plan is an important step in developing a truly circular economy in Europe. However, it is missing incentives to keep valuable steel scrap within the EU, which undermines circularity and the EU’s climate objectives. 

ArcelorMittal has called for member states and MEPs to support the introduction of a carbon border adjustment, as part of the European Commission’s EUR 1 trillion Green Deal, aimed at making the bloc carbon neutral by 2050. In a manifesto ‘Creating a low carbon world, the case for a Carbon Border Adjustment’, ArcelorMittal set out its firm belief that a CBA should be one of the first Green Deal measures adopted by the new European Commission, as it will help to create the market conditions and protections needed for companies to make investments and transition to carbon neutrality without disruption. 

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