David Fickling, Columnist

China’s Steel Saturation Almost Here: Elements by David Fickling

September 19, 2022 at 11:34 AM UTC

David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering climate change and energy. Previously, he worked for Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

A steel mill
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

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Hello, here’s today’s Elements, Bloomberg’s daily energy and commodities newsletter. In today’s take Bloomberg Opinions’s David Fickling says China is fast approaching the point where the economy has all the steel it needs. And if you read one news story today, stay in China for Alf Cang and Jack Farchy’s profile of embattled copper tycoon He Jinbi. If you want to receive the newsletter straight into your inbox, click here.

How much steel does a country need? Believe it or not, the answer is remarkably consistent across geographies and history.