Final Thoughts
Final thoughts
Written by Brett Linton & Ethan Bernard
August 22, 2024
Within the space of a few days, all of us at SMU will be leaving on a jet plane. Wait, that’s not completely true. A couple of SMU staff in the Atlanta area will be driving to Steel Summit 2024. Still, the hour where we kick off the conference is quickly approaching. In anticipation, we are providing one of our handy-dandy crosswords in honor of the event.
So, we’re covering a bit of history, a bit of the present, and having a little fun. Then, come Monday morning, we will be hitting the ground running. Stay tuned for up-to-date market info, riveting speakers, top-notch networking, and—just maybe—a little fun as well.
Lastly, please remember to download the Steel Summit 2024 app! If you haven’t already, go to either the Apple or Android app stores and download it today.
Steel Summit crossword
Click here to attempt the crossword.
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Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonEthan Bernard
Read more from Ethan BernardLatest in Final Thoughts
Final thoughts
Whether it’s the twists and turns of the presidential election, the U.S. Steel deal, or just what’s happening with the movement of steel pricing, there has been no shortage of stories for us to cover.
Final thoughts
Cleveland-Cliffs is seeking $750 per short ton (st) for hot-rolled coil. That’s $20/st above where the steelmaker had been. It’s also $30/st above Nucor, which is at $720/st this week. We've seen prices increase incrementally this week. SMU's HR price, for example, stands at $690/st on average, up $5/st from last week. The questions now are whether a number well above $700/st will stick, whether other mills will follow Cliffs, and whether there is enough demand to support higher prices.
Final thoughts
We got a little flack for adjusting our sheet momentum indicators to neutral last week. To be clear, we didn’t adjust them to lower. Part of the reason we moved them to neutral was because there are some unusual cross-currents in the current market. On the news side, you could make a case that there should nowhere to go but up.
Final thoughts
I think all of us know that sometimes courtships go wrong. A misplaced word or deed and soon things can go sideways, and not in the prices sense. Such could be the case with Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel’s play for U.S. Steel.
Final thoughts
We’re starting to see some impacts of the big trade case filed last week against imports of coated flat-rolled steel from 10 nations. Namely, we’ve heard that a range of traders have stopped offering material from Vietnam. An alleged dumping margin of nearly 160% will do that. Especially amid chatter of critical circumstances.