[macro outlook] pay attention to the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States in the week ended July 17

[overnight market] Metal rises and falls lead hits a three-year high, three major US stock indexes have two consecutive gains.

The market closed overnight.

Metals rose and fell overnight, with lun lead closing up 0.69%, reaching an intraday high of 2350 points, hitting a three-year high. Sources say the parent company of German manufacturer Berzelius Stolberg has stopped production at its factory in Stolberg, western Germany, after floods hit last week. This is the largest primary lead smelter in Europe, with the group producing about 155000 tons of lead and lead alloys a year. In terms of internal trading, SMM believes that the extent of lead ingot inventory accumulation this week may slow down due to power cuts and transportation problems, or lead will run high during the support period.

The dollar index fell 0.2% as US stocks collectively rose due to a shift in the market's preference for venture capital. As demand for risk aversion cooled as Treasury yields and US stock markets rose.

In terms of US stocks, by the close, the Dow was up 0.83% at 34798.00, the S & P was up 0.82% at 4358.69, and the NASDAQ was up 0.92% at 14632.00.

For crude oil, oil prices rose sharply yesterday, following the overall rise in financial markets, while official US data showed a decline in peak summer driving periods for both gasoline and refined oil depots. Last week, domestic refined oil stocks fell the most since mid-May, while gasoline stocks also fell, according to a report from the US Energy Information Administration.

On precious metals, gold prices fell for a second consecutive session to their lowest level in more than a week, while 10-year Treasury yields continued to rebound from five-month lows, dampening demand for precious metals.

LME inventory

Macro focus

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang presided over an executive meeting of the State Council to improve the macro-prudential policy framework, build a systematic financial risk monitoring, assessment and early warning mechanism, and maintain the smooth operation of the financial market.

Georgiyeva, president of IMF: the global economy is expected to grow by 6% in July 2021, the same as in April, but some countries are growing faster and some countries are growing slowly.

[federal Reserve Chairman Colin Powell is likely to be re-elected but uncertain] when nominating the next Fed chairman, President Biden is expected to choose between current Chairman Powell and his colleagues. Some insiders and many outsiders regard Powell, whose current term expires in February, as his first choice. The White House declined to comment on specific candidates. Government officials said Biden would consult senior economic advisers, including Finance Minister Yellen, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Cecilia Rouse and Director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese. Mr. Powell and Mr. Brainard declined to comment. Mr. Powell's fate depends in part on how the White House handles several other Fed appointments, according to people familiar with the matter.

[Ministry of Water Resources: obvious flood will occur in the Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River and Pearl River basins] the latest news released by the Ministry of Water Resources is that in the next three days, affected by cold and warm air and typhoons, there will be heavy to torrential rain in southern North China, northwest Huang-Huai, southern China, eastern Jiangnan and southern Yunnan, among which heavy rainstorms will occur in parts of southern Hebei, northern Henan, southeastern Shanxi, southwestern Guangdong, and southeastern Guangxi. Local torrential rain.

Today's focus

[attention: the severe flood situation in Henan Province, frequent news of enterprise shutdowns and the latest tracking of the impact of the metal industry] A sudden torrential rain hit Henan Province as of 3: 00 a.m. on July 21. The Henan Provincial Flood Control Office has upgraded the emergency response level of flood control from level II to level I. Affected by the flood, Henan railways and highways, civil aviation transportation, residents' lives and property safety have been seriously threatened. Many enterprises also had to suspend production temporarily because of the direct or indirect effects of the heavy rain, and at the same time disturbed the mood of the metal market. SMM summarized the progress of the latest events for everyone to know. "check the details."

Guan Xuan: the second batch of copper, aluminum and zinc is so much! Released in late July] to ensure a stable supply and price of commodities, the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Grain and material Reserve Bureau decided to release national reserves of copper, aluminum and zinc in batches. Following the release of 20,000 tons of copper, 50,000 tons of aluminum and 30,000 tons of zinc in national reserves on July 5, the second batch of national reserves of 30,000 tons of copper, 90,000 tons of aluminum and 50,000 tons of zinc will be released in late July. Bidders are related enterprises engaged in the processing and manufacture of copper, aluminum and zinc. "check the details."

[recycled copper daily review: some waste enterprises are forced to stop production again because of insufficient raw materials] the supply of recycled copper is still very tight, and some recycled copper rod enterprises are difficult to purchase enough raw materials, so they are forced to stop production again. According to customs statistics, recycled copper imports in June were 150400 tons, an increase of 7.89% over the previous month. In June, copper imports turned from losses to profits, driving procurement demand. At present, purple copper imports should be profitable, superimposed by a domestic supply gap. It is expected that imports will increase month-on-month in July, but it is still difficult to meet domestic demand, and the supply of purple copper will continue to be tight in the short term. "check the details.

[SMM Yangshan copper spot: traders hesitate to sell positive price Yangshan copper transaction high stalemate] from yesterday's market trading, traders generally keep selling mood under the limited number of offers, high prices hovering, the mainstream fire warehouse receipt quotation at more than 50 US dollars / ton, August to Hong Kong mainstream fire bill of lading quoted at about 35 US dollars / ton. The high premium depressed part of the demand, and the turnover was weaker than in the previous two days. In the past two weeks, imports have been flowing into the domestic trade market, dragging down the rising discount and falling back. In the later stage, we need to continue to pay attention to the inflow of imported copper. "check the details.

[minutes: rising demand in downstream lithium industry copper foil enterprises actively expand production] SMM estimates that the demand for lithium copper foil will reach 540900 tons by 2025. In 20, 21 and 23 years, the nominal production capacity was higher than the demand for lithium copper foil in these three years, and there was excess capacity in all three years. It is expected that the overcapacity rate will begin to narrow from 2023, and the whole market will tend to be in a tight balance by 25 years. From the point of view of the relationship between supply and demand of lithium copper foil and electronic circuit copper foil, due to the impact of the epidemic in 2020, there is a mismatch between supply and demand, and copper foil processing fees enter the rising channel. "check the details.

[SMM survey: Henan floods cause market concern about Shanghai aluminum prices retreating in early trading] some parts of Henan have suffered from severe floods. From the perspective of industrial chain, Gongyi and Zhengzhou are the core areas of Henan aluminum processing enterprises, and local production has been seriously impacted. In order to concentrate on flood fighting and plant equipment safety, local aluminum strip, aluminum alloy, aluminum rod and wire enterprises often choose to stop production intermittently or reduce operating load. Production has to be resumed after the rain stops, and the impact time is expected to be 7 days. Although the upstream alumina, mines and electrolytic aluminum have an impact, the overall scale is relatively small. The transportation of raw materials such as ores, alumina and aluminum ingots in some areas is restricted for a short time, and can be resumed after the rainfall stops. "check the details."

[aluminum bar spot daily review: aluminum bar processing fee adjustment is not very low price deal is OK] 21 aluminum bar mainstream market processing fees have not changed much, 21 aluminum base price rose 50 yuan / ton to 19090 yuan / ton, traders wait and see, but the market dived before noon, there is no lack of low-price supply. The enthusiasm of receiving goods downstream is OK, but the overall transaction of the market is not as good as that of the previous day. "check the details."

[aluminum prices rebounded slightly and recycled aluminum prices remained strong] Aluminum prices rose slightly yesterday, SMM A00 aluminum prices fell to 19040 yuan / ton, recycled aluminum prices are relatively strong. Aluminum prices fluctuate in a narrow range, due to the tightening of the overall supply of recycled aluminum, the deepening of traders' willingness to sell, and the strong willingness to raise prices, giving certain support to recycled aluminum prices. Downstream to maintain rigid demand procurement, market transactions in general. The price of recycled aluminum is expected to remain stable in the near future.

[minutes: review of supply and demand of electrolytic aluminum in China in the first half of 2021 and prospects for the second half of 2021] SMM expects the high operating range of aluminum prices in the second half of the year, on the one hand, inventory may remain low throughout the year, bottom support, and cost will continue to play a supporting role. On the other hand, macro Shanghai is expected to raise interest rates, as well as domestic dumping and regulation to suppress aluminum prices. "check the details."

[minutes: review of lead prices in 2021 and expectations for the third quarter] the output of recycled lead and primary lead in the lead spot market has recovered actively in 2021, with supply slightly stronger than the weak fundamentals of demand. However, it should be noted that the recent lead price correction has gradually narrowed. In the third quarter, SMM maintained a relatively positive expectation, and Shanghai lead is expected to run between 15500 and 16500 yuan / ton. "check the details.

[SMM News: Shanghai and Xi Xi fell for two days in a row! Short-term focus on whether inventories continue to increase and position changes] from the perspective of short-term price performance, Shanghai and Tin opened low after opening and significantly reduced positions in the short term, confirming that recently funds are leaving the market at a high level in preparation for the replacement of contracts. Taking into account the remaining time of the contract, the subsequent steady horizontal reduction of funds to increase the probability of leaving the market. In the short term, pay attention to whether domestic and foreign tin stocks continue to increase, and whether positions continue to decline. "check the details.

[nickel fell again to stimulate consumption to maintain steady trading activity] fell about 3000 yuan / ton to more than 136000 yuan / ton in daily trading yesterday. In particular, the period trading price is the lowest in the past two weeks, attracting spot buyers to enter the market, the market continued yesterday's active atmosphere, the transaction performance is better. The price of nickel board is almost the same as that of yesterday, and Russo Nickel reported an increase of 400-500 yuan / ton for 08 contract. "check the details."

[MMi iron ore port spot index report (21)] yesterday even iron shock down, the main contract fell by about 3.85% throughout the day; the port spot market early quotation was 10-15 yuan / ton lower than yesterday. Recently, the tasks of reducing crude steel production in Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Hunan and Shanxi have been introduced one after another, superimposed Hebei, Guangxi and other steel mills have reported blast furnace maintenance, production reduction news, the market negative mood has risen; some merchants continued to lower intraday quotations of 5-10 yuan / ton, but the purchasing mentality of steel mills is still more cautious. "check the details."

[SMM Coke spot Daily Review: changes in supply and demand are bearish Coke Price Market mentality is weak] on the 21st, Shanxi coke market is weak and stable. The production of coke enterprises in Linfen area is still limited, most of the coke enterprises in other areas are in normal production, and there are only a few coke inventory libraries, and most coke enterprises have no inventory for the time being. Due to the reduction of crude steel production and environmental protection inspection in some steel mills in Shandong and Jiangsu, the number of blast furnaces stopped production and overhaul increased, the demand for coke decreased, and the purchasing demand was even lower when the market was bearish on coke prices. however, in the case of tight coking coal resources and coal prices supporting coke prices, there was some resistance in steel mills to lower coke prices. yesterday, steel mills in some areas raised and reduced the second round, and the overall market supply and demand changed bearish coke prices. The overall mentality of the market is weak. "check the details."

[metallurgical grade silicon supplier strongly increased price] on the 21st, Tianjin Port oxygenated 55 silicon in 13900-14200 yuan / ton, non-oxygenated 55 silicon in 12900-13100 yuan / ton. Recently, one person was killed in a sudden accident at a large silicon plant in Xinjiang. at present, the operating capacity of the plant has been slightly reduced, and it is uncertain whether to stop production for the time being. After the news came out, the enthusiasm of downstream and traders to buy goods increased, and large factories in the north and other metallurgical-grade low-grade silicon factories also raised their quotations one after another, and the transaction situation improved slightly, and most of the traders followed the silicon factories to raise their quotations. "Metallurgical grade metal silicon market is becoming stronger." check the details.

[SMM Electrolytic Manganese Daily Review: manganese prices continue to rise to new highs] according to SMM, except in the mainstream areas of the manganese triangle and some reductions in production in Guangxi, the overall operating rate of manganese factories in other parts of the country has decreased significantly from this week to the end of the month, and the spot shortage is becoming more and more obvious. recently, some terminals are more active in searching goods, but they have heard that the trading prices of individual metal manganese ingots and manganese balls have increased by more than 20,000 yuan per ton. The manganese factory supply is not expected to increase at the end of the month. SMM believes that the current manganese price is still high. "check the details."

[SMM titanium dioxide spot KuaiBao: domestic titanium dioxide price weak operation] affected by the continuous weakening downstream demand, domestic titanium dioxide factory quotation continues to be weak operation, rutile titanium dioxide factory mainstream quotation in 20000 yuan / ton-21500 yuan / ton, anatase titanium dioxide market mainstream quotation 18000 yuan / ton-19000 yuan / ton. It is learned from the sales staff of a large factory that due to the continuous weakening of the current downstream demand, leading to the loosening of the factory quotation, some small factories are limited by their own capital scale, and the quotation must make concessions. While large factories rely on the stability of their own sales channels and market recognition of quality, the impact of order decline is small, and the quotation is stable as a whole, resulting in a large price gap between titanium dioxide enterprises. "check the details.

[SMM magnesium ingot spot KuaiBao: high flat magnesium price temporarily stable] at present, the factory quotation remains high, the new transaction price of magnesium price is around 20300 yuan / ton, the downstream demand follow-up is limited, and the purchase is more cautious. Affected by the low operation of factory inventory, the upstream price sentiment is strong, some small factories are limited by their own funds, there are some concessions, and the market quotation is stable as a whole. Downstream, some processors said that the current price is too high, beyond the scope of order acceptance, non-rigid demand procurement is cautious, mainly wait-and-see. According to the analysis, the current high magnesium price transaction has weakened, and the downstream market is mainly wait-and-see. "check the details."

Important news of metals and industry

[national Development and Reform Commission holds National Price work Conference on strengthening Commodity Price Regulation] from July 15 to 16, the National Price work Conference was held in Beijing, where the meeting analyzed the current price situation and required local price authorities to focus on strengthening price monitoring, early warning and expectation management, strengthening commodity price regulation and control, ensuring the guarantee and supply of important commodities for people's livelihood, and ensuring the achievement of the overall price control target this year.

[Ivanhoe's Kamoa-Kakula exports first copper concentrates] Ivanhoe's large Kamoa-Kakula mine in (DRC), Democratic Republic of the Congo, has begun to export copper concentrates to the international market. The Canadian mining company said the first trucks left the mine on July 17 and would be shipped exclusively from the port of Durban in South Africa to China's Citic Metals and Zijin Mining. Ivanhoe signed an agreement in June to sell 50 per cent of copper production from the recently launched first phase of the Congolese copper mine to every Chinese company. Ivanhoe said that once the export clearance is received (which will take about five days), the truck will leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo and go to South Africa.

[BHP.N is considering withdrawing from oil and gas] international mining giant BHP Billiton is considering withdrawing from oil and gas, a multibillion-dollar exit that will accelerate its exit from fossil fuels. The company has long said its oil business is one of the pillars of its strategy and says it will be profitable for at least the next decade. But as the world tries to wean itself off fossil fuels, BHP wants to avoid falling into the trap of making it increasingly difficult to sell assets. The consideration is still at an early stage and a final decision has not yet been made.

Recently, the bid-winning results of local bonds in many provinces and cities have been announced. The winning interest rates of Beijing 6-issue local bonds and Hubei 9-issue local bonds have all risen 15BP above the lower limit, breaking through the invisible limit that the yield spread between Beijing and the corresponding treasury bonds is 25BP. This is another landmark breakthrough this month after Guangdong, Zhejiang and other local bond issuance interest rates broke the invisible limit in June this year. Many analysts believe that on the one hand, this reflects the improvement of the degree of marketization of local bond issuance, and developed regions respond to the requirements of "promoting interest rates on local bond issuance to reasonably reflect regional and project differences." on the other hand, reasonable and abundant market liquidity and low risk-free returns have created a good monetary environment for local bond issuance.

[Kazakhstan's refined copper production fell year on year in the first half of the year. Zinc production increased] according to data released by the Kazakh Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday, the country's refined copper production fell 1.1% from January to June compared with the same period last year, while refined zinc production increased by 2.6% compared with the same period last year. Crude steel production climbed 18.1%. According to the data, Kazakhstan produced 36368 tons of refined copper in June, with a cumulative total of 244120 tons from January to June. The country produced 32658 tons of refined zinc in June, with a cumulative total of 161965 tons from January to June.

[Mingtai Aluminum: at present, the personnel safety plant is safe, and some plant areas have been temporarily suspended] in view of the extreme torrential rain in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, Mingtai Aluminum executives said that the company's plant area is mainly in Huiguo Town, Gongyi City, with high terrain as a whole. at present, all personnel are safe and the plant is safe; some of the plants are temporarily shut down due to local power outages. The company has made emergency preparations in advance and piled up sandbags around to ensure that there is no water in the factory area, and some workshops are still in normal production; at present, the traffic is blocked, trucks can not enter, and the products have been stored in the warehouse.

[Jiaozuo Wanfang Aluminum Industry: emergency shutdown due to Flood disaster] Jiaozuo Wanfang Aluminum Co., Ltd. issued a notice on July 21, 2021, saying that the company's production and operation had been affected by the flood, and its production had been temporarily suspended. I. the situation of natural disasters shows that from July 18 to 21, 2021, there was a rare weather of continuous heavy precipitation in some parts of Henan, and floods occurred in some areas. On the afternoon of July 21, 2021, due to the outbreak of mountain torrents caused by continuous rainfall, the river near the company was flooded deeply, and the flood entered the company, which forced the company to stop production urgently. Second, after the measures taken and the estimated time for the resumption of normal production, cadres and workers at all levels of the company actively devoted themselves to the production front line for emergency rescue and disaster relief, and the municipal and district governments and relevant departments worked on the spot to guide the disaster relief work. At present, the rescue and relief work is still in progress, and the time for the company to resume normal production cannot be estimated. Third, the impact of the flood disaster on the company this flood disaster will affect the output of the company's aluminum products can not be estimated, the direct economic loss can not be calculated at present. The company will make further disclosure according to the production recovery.

[Nanshan Aluminum: plans to invest 2 billion yuan to build an automobile lightweight aluminum strip production line with an annual production capacity of 200000 tons] Nanshan Aluminum Industry (600219) issued an announcement yesterday night, the company held the 10th meeting of the board of directors on July 21, 2021 to examine and approve the "proposal on the construction of automobile lightweight aluminum strip production line project". The total investment of the project is about 2 billion yuan, and the construction period is expected to be 18-30 months. After the completion of the project, the annual production capacity of lightweight aluminum plate and strip will be increased by 200000 tons.

[IAI: global primary aluminum production also fell from a record high in June to 2.304 million tons per day] according to data released by the International Aluminum Association ((IAI)), global primary aluminum production (excluding China) fell from a record high to 2.304 million tons in June. The average daily output of primary aluminum in the world (excluding China) was 76800 tons in June, falling for the second month in a row.

[Ragnar Metals: found high-grade nickel and copper in the Tullsta project] it was recently reported that, Ragnar Metals (RAG) discovered high-grade nickel and copper mineralization in the Tullsta project in Sweden, and in June, Ragnar completed a four-hole diamond drilling program covering 2238 meters. The analysis of the drilling program confirmed the existence of nickel-copper mineralization in the sulfides intersecting with the 21DDTS002 hole. Drilling also extends mineralization to a strike length of 140 meters along the bottom of the intrusive body and remains open in all directions. The results show that the total mineralized zone is 60.2m, with a nickel content of 0.75% and a copper content of 0.47%, ranging from 498.2 m to 558.4 m, including a wide range of high-grade results from the upper, middle, bubble, lower and basement contact zones.

[Norilsk Nickel has produced the first batch of carbon-neutral nickel reached 5000 tons] according to recent reports, Norilsk Nickel has produced the first batch of carbon-neutral nickel. Norilsk Nickel has produced a certified batch of carbon-neutral nickel for the first time in the company's history and will begin shipping to producers, the company said. The first batch of carbon-neutral products had a nickel cathode of 5000 tons, and the company said it planned to produce as many as 10000 tons of products by the end of the year.

[Lion Weibo's strong limit rose 120% in two months] on the 21st, Lionwei rose by the limit shortly after the opening of trading. By the end of the day, Lionwei had a net inflow of 103.18 million yuan, and its share price finally recorded 162.27 yuan per share, the highest since its listing. "check the details.

[Zhangyuan Tungsten Industry raised the price of cemented carbide cutting products] yesterday Chongyi Zhangyuan Tungsten Industry Co., Ltd. issued a notice of price adjustment. Zhangyuan tungsten industry said that the recent rising prices of tungsten and cobalt, the raw materials of cemented carbide, have led to a substantial increase in the company's costs. Since July 28, 2021, cemented carbide cutting products will be implemented at the new price.

[polysilicon prices fell for three consecutive weeks] on July 21, the Silicon Industry Branch released the latest market quotation for polysilicon, which fell for the third week in a row. According to the production and operation plans of various enterprises tracked by the Silicon Industry Branch, due to the incremental release of the resumption of production by maintenance enterprises in July, domestic polysilicon production will increase slightly, estimated to be about 41000 tons, and imports are expected to be about 9000 tons. Over the same period, demand is expected to be between 4.8 and 50000 tons, which is slightly less than supply, and the pattern of supply and demand will be reversed in July. Therefore, it is expected that market prices will show a downward trend along with supply and demand in the short term.

[carbon Trading officially launched Bank carbon Finance windward] as soon as China's carbon emissions trading market was launched, it immediately became the largest carbon market covering greenhouse gas emissions in the world. As of July 20, the cumulative turnover of (CEA), the national carbon market quota, was 4.3968 million tons, with a cumulative turnover of 226 million yuan. The volume of such transactions covers only the first batch of more than 2000 power emission control enterprises. As the first companies to be included in the transaction, they account for about 40 per cent of the country's total carbon emissions. The national carbon emissions trading market, which contains a huge trading volume, brings promising development opportunities to commercial banks and other financial institutions.

[trading volume in China's futures market increased by 47.37% from January to June compared with the same period last year] the latest data from the China Futures Industry Association show that the trading scale of China's futures market rose steadily in the first half of the year, and the awareness and internal demand for hedging risks of physical enterprises and financial institutions increased significantly. The data show that from January to June, the cumulative trading volume of the national futures market was 3.716 billion lots, and the cumulative turnover was 286.33 trillion yuan, up 47.37% and 73.05% respectively over the same period last year.

Terminal information

[China Photovoltaic Industry Association: China's photovoltaic industry has basically met the global supply chain] Cao Renxian, chairman of China Photovoltaic Industry Association, said at the 2021 Photovoltaic Industry chain supply Forum held on July 21 that in recent years, China's photovoltaic industry has formed the most perfect photovoltaic industry from high-level silicon materials, silicon wafers, battery modules, photovoltaic manufacturing equipment to system integration and applications. China's industry has basically met the global supply chain, and the global share of polysilicon, wafer and battery modules produced in mainland China is 76%, 96%, 83% and 70%, respectively. In terms of polysilicon, silicon wafers and battery modules, Chinese enterprises rank among the top 10 in the world in terms of output.

[bank of America: global electric vehicle battery supply could be cut off as early as 2025] the BofA research report says the global electric vehicle industry faces an imminent threat that its battery supply could run out as early as 2025. As the penetration of electric vehicles in all markets continues to rise, global battery shortages will intensify further between 2026 and 2030, reflecting the "increasingly optimistic" outlook for the electric vehicle industry. BofA expects global penetration of all new energy vehicles, including pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, to reach 23 per cent, 40 per cent and 67 per cent respectively by 2025, 2030 and 2040.

[semiconductor companies collectively report stronger growth in the second half of the year] A total of 28 companies in the semiconductor sector issued results forecasts for the first half of the year, all of which not only made profits, but also all achieved growth. Among them, 19 companies forecast that the lower limit of performance growth in the first half of the year is more than double, and some companies' performance growth is more than five times. In addition, the position of public offering funds in the second quarter shows that Yinhua Fund, financing Fund and so on increased their holdings of semiconductor concept stocks in the second quarter.

[Tesla plans to open the charging network to other electric vehicles later this year] Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that the company plans to open its network of supercharging stations to other electric vehicles later this year. Musk added that over time, Tesla's charging network will be open to other electric vehicles in all countries. Tesla's fast charging network has more than 2500 supercharging stations around the world, giving it a competitive advantage on a global scale. At the same time, other carmakers are pushing new electric vehicles into the market by forming alliances or investing in start-ups.

[TSMC finally decided to build its first chip factory in Japan] according to media reports, TSMC finally decided to build its first chip factory in Japan as early as 2023, according to people familiar with the matter. The board is expected to make a decision on the investment this quarter. The plant is expected to be mainly used to produce image sensors for Sony (Sony), TSMC's biggest Japanese customer. The new plant will be able to produce about 40,000 wafers a month using 28nm technology, which is widely used in the manufacture of cars and consumer products. Sony declined to comment.