Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that steel imports have become more enticing to U.S. buyers than in previous weeks. U.S producers appear to have lost their price advantage over HRC imports from Far East Asia, according to the latest SMU and CRU price indices. The price differentials between […]
The U.S. International Trade Administration has launched a new Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) System as of Oct, 13. This new system collects and publishes data on steel mill product imports and provides valuable information on steel trade within the United States. The import monitor provides an early indication on steel imports by publishing […]
Most of the industry executives polled by Steel Market Update this week reported genuine demand, not just tight supplies, pushing steel prices upward, promising even higher prices ahead. SMU estimates the current spot market price for hot rolled at $700 per ton, up by $260 over the past three months, and likely not yet at […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week puts the average price for hot rolled steel at $700 per ton, a psychological milestone for the steel sector as the economy continues to make progress from the severe early effects of the COVID pandemic. This marks the 12th week in a row that flat rolled […]
California Steel Industries has opened its January order book with a considerable bump in prices. CSI notified customers on Monday that it has increased transaction prices on its flat rolled products by $90-100 per ton. Effective immediately, unconfirmed orders for hot rolled, P&O and galvanized increase by $90 per ton, while cold rolled prices increase […]
Domestic mills continue to increase steel production as the economy rebounds from the coronavirus, with the capacity utilization rate topping 70 percent again for the first time since late-March. In the week ending Oct. 31, raw steel production totaled 1,557,000 net tons, at a mill operating rate of 70.4 percent, up from 69.7 percent the […]
By CRU Principal Analyst James Campbell, from CRU’s Long Products Monitor Most long product prices around the world increased this month as the recovery in demand continues. For some markets and products, the increase in supply has been outpaced by demand. Wire rod remains the strongest product right now as the increase in construction activity […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Lack of supply and higher demand is causing sheet prices to diverge further from plate across regions, with U.S. sheet prices reaching their highest level since April 2019 this week. New lockdown announcements have not had an impact on the European market at this point, […]
BY CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices edged up for the second consecutive week as Chinese domestic steel prices rallied and the seaborne iron ore supply weakened. On Tuesday, Nov. 10, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $122.0 /dmt, $4.5 /dmt higher w/w. Chinese domestic […]
By Principal Consultant Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor North American sheet prices have continued to surge after bottoming this past August. For HR coil, prices have been assessed at $712 /s.ton. Since Aug. 12, these prices have gained $237 /s.ton, or 63%. This is the fastest percent gain over three months in […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) increased by 1.5% m/m in November to 229.0. The increase in scrap prices in most regions has been driven by a continued recovery in steel prices and demand. Moving into December, we expect higher steel pricing and demand […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The global sheet market has seen a few key trends emerge across a variety of regions. First, demand has continued to rise from the pandemic-related lows recorded earlier this year. While sheet demand continues to be driven by sequential increases in automotive demand, […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores and Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Strong underlying demand continues to provide substantial support to finished steel prices in the USA. Sheet prices have risen at their quickest pace since CRU started tracking them and, while there was little change m/m for long products, mills have […]
By CRU Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service The U.S. market is at a unique point where steel buyers could be convinced to buy imports because of extreme supply tightness. With about 7Mt of blast furnace capacity remaining idled in the U.S. and Canada, sheet mills in operation are effectively running at […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The bullish sentiment in the Chinese steel industry has resulted in continuous strong demand for iron ore. Meanwhile, iron ore supply from Australia has been weak throughout November and inventories in China have remained at a low level as a result. On Tuesday, […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The impact of Covid-19 restrictions on global manufacturing this year has led to the loss of ~ 700,000 t of refined zinc demand compared to our pre-Covid-19 forecasts. Smelter output has been far less impacted, despite mine supply losses, and this has led […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have continued to surge in the past week as robust Chinese demand has coincided with lower Australian exports. As a result, prices have climbed above $130 /dmt and on Tuesday, Dec. 1, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at […]
Hot rolled steel prices just keep rising. Steel Market Update puts the current benchmark price for HR at $685 per ton. How much higher can it go before correcting? Opinions vary widely. Responses to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week indicate that a solid majority (62 percent) of industry executives believe the HR […]
Despite some initial concern that the ferrous scrap market would dip in November, scrap dealers anticipate a “strong sideways” price trend next month. “Export sales have been voluminous over the last two weeks, and prices are now about $10 off the lowest levels they fell to over the last month or so,” said a dealer […]
Scrap pricing for November is difficult to generalize with notable regional differences, but for the most part obsolete grades have traded sideways while prime grades have seen a small increase, sources tell Steel Market Update. Scrap prices for December are widely expected to move higher, lending further support to higher finished steel prices as the […]
Ferrous scrap prices are expected to see a strong finish to 2020, say the experts, rising by an estimated $35-55/GT, lending support to finished steel prices that also continue to rise. Except for some slight weakness in October, ferrous scrap prices have moved upward for the past three months, and that trend is expected to […]
Ferrous scrap prices saw a big jump in December, settling up by a minimum of $70/GT, with rumored sales exceeding $100/GT, report Steel Market Update sources. Scrap prices are widely expected to see further increases in January, adding ongoing support to the uptrend in finished steel prices. Scrap for December reportedly settled in the following […]
Ferrous scrap prices are expected to trade significantly higher again in January on strong demand from mills both domestic and foreign, report Steel Market Update sources. Scrap jumped by more than $70/GT in December and the uptrend is likely to continue into the new year, lending further support to higher finished steel prices. “Like many […]
Late this week with talks ongoing, it appeared ferrous scrap prices for January would settle up by another $90-100 a ton, reported Steel Market Update sources, on top of a $70-100 a ton jump in December. Complicating negotiations were the many different settled price levels in December. January will see significant increases in all prices […]
Following big jumps in December and January, ferrous scrap prices are expected to moderate in February. Steel Market Update sources predict obsolete grades could drop by $30-50/GT and prime grades by $10-20/GT due primarily to the large amount of scrap offered to the mills in January and the weakening export market. “Scrap dealers are lowering […]
While trading was still ongoing as of Friday, it appeared ferrous scrap prices for February would settle sideways for prime grades, but down for obsoletes, as shred supplies have increased and export demand has decreased. Steel Market Update sources reported the February busheling price unchanged at around $495/GT and the shred price down by $50-60 […]
Ferrous scrap prices are expected to rise anywhere from $40-70/GT in March after declines in February, lending further support to higher finished steel prices. Scrap prices are likely rise in March by at least as much as they fell in February, said CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley. “The cold snap over the last few weeks […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled The latest hot roll production data shows that recent year-on-year figures are off by roughly 20 percent due mainly to […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled In spite of the rapidly spreading Covid virus and some market concern about its potential impact on manufacturing operations, not […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor HR coil was the standout product across all regions this week. HR coil deal prices and buyer bids increased in Vietnam, strong demand data supported prices in China, and tight availability continued to bolster U.S. prices and sure up the market in Europe. […]