By CRU’s China Steel Team, with Senior Analysts Richard Lu and Erik Hedborg. On Monday, Feb. 3, financial markets and commodity trade resumed after the extended Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday caused by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Equity markets fell sharply as fears of economic slowdown prompted investors to push the sell button. […]
As advanced as steelmaking has become, producing steel is still an inherently carbon- and energy-intensive process. Steel mills in the United States and the rest of the world find themselves in the crosshairs of the many environmental and political groups now calling for dramatic steps to reduce harmful air emissions and slow the pace of […]
Key Market Indicators show that the improvement in market trends that occurred in December continued into January. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data SMU has reported in detail during the month. It summarizes 36 data streams that describe the state of the steel market and provide forward guidance for […]
By Principal Analyst James Campbell, from CRU’s Steel Plate Products Market Outlook The coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan has led to Chinese New Year holidays being extended and transportation restrictions introduced in order to contain the spread of the virus. Steel demand is normally weak during this period, but production continues as usual. Every day of […]
Prices of all five of the raw materials considered in this report advanced in the last month. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through Jan. 22 of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, 3 months/3 months and 12 months/12 months changes on a percentage basis. All five materials had a […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Manjot Singh, from CRU’s Raw Materials Monitor In the past week the coking coal market was characterized by mixed signals, keeping buyers cautious. We heard from a few sources that restrictions on coal intakes at major Chinese ports of Caofeidian and Jingtang could return soon. Currently there is no confirmation of […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive level members. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Key Market Indicators showed a substantial improvement in market trends in the December data. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data SMU has […]
Key Market Indicators showed a substantial improvement in market trends in the December data. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data SMU has reported in detail during the month. It summarizes 36 data streams that describe the state of the steel market and provide forward guidance for steel buyers and […]
In Steel Market Update’s latest raw materials report, Table 1 summarizes the price changes through Dec. 18 of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, 3 months/3 months and 12 months/12 months changes on a percentage basis. Four of the five materials under consideration had a positive price movement in December. […]
By CRU North America Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 7.9 percent m/m to 211.1 (see chart) following price increases in nearly every market. Pervasive market tightness caused by adverse weather and higher domestic demand in major exporting markets forced buyers in import-reliant markets to accept higher […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Throughout 2019, steelmakers’ willingness to pay higher prices for premium quality steelmaking raw materials has diminished. For iron ore, the spread between 65% and 62% Fe fines has fallen to $8 /t in Q4, well below the $28 /t peak in 2018 Q3. […]
Editor’s note: Steel is the largest producer of global industrial CO2 emissions. So, as stemming climate change takes on ever greater urgency, steelmakers are challenged to find production methods that emit fewer greenhouse gases. New technologies in development range from improving process efficiency to carbon capture to using hydrogen instead of coal as fuel. Following […]
In the last month, the prices of three of the five raw materials tracked by Steel Market Update in this report declined, one advanced and one was unchanged. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through Nov. 20 of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, 3 months/3 months and 12 months/12 […]
This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data SMU has reported in detail during the month. It summarizes 36 data streams that describe the state of the steel market and provide forward guidance for steel buyers and sellers. See the end of this piece for an explanation of the Key Indicators […]
By CRU Steel Prices Lead Anh Nghiem, from the Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have been gradually increasing over the past week with improving steel prices and positive signals from the Chinese futures market. According to a market source, market participants’ confidence has improved significantly since steel prices started to increase and this […]
By Senior Analyst Manjot Singh, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The past week was characterized by improving sentiment in the Chinese and Indian steel industry. Chinese HRC and rebar prices increased substantially w/w (see data below) on the back of higher demand. Even the HRC prices in India witnessed a $7 /t increase w/w, […]
By Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 7.5 percent m/m to 195.7 (see chart) after prices rose in most markets. The most pronounced rebounds were in the U.S. and European scrap markets, while prices in Asia either rose or were stable. Prices in regions […]
This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data we have reported in detail during the month. It summarizes 36 data streams that describe the state of the steel market and provide forward guidance for steel buyers and sellers. See the end of this piece for an explanation of the Key Indicators […]
Compared to three months ago, all five of the raw materials prices considered in this report declined in October. Compared to September, there was a recovery in the prices of coking coal and zinc. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through Oct. 16 of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, […]
By CRU Steel Prices Lead Anh Nghiem China returned to the market on Tuesday from their national holidays, but the market remained stable with mixed signals from the China Futures market, i.e. a 1 percent increase in the iron ore futures market while the steel futures market showed a 2 percent decline on the first […]
The net situation changed little from August but the Treasury 10/2 yield spread became slightly positive on Sept. 27 and the SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index suffered a serious setback on Sept. 15. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data on which we have reported in detail during the month. […]
Raw materials prices were erratic in September with four of the five considered here experiencing price reversals since August. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through Sept. 25 of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month / month, 3 months / 3 months and 12 months / 12 months changes on […]
Editor’s note: The Chinese government currently bars exports of ferrous scrap to other parts of the world to assure China of an adequate domestic supply. As this analysis by CRU Principal Analyst Chris Asgill points out, China’s economy will eventually generate a scrap supply that far exceeds its scrap consumption, opening up the doors to […]
By CRU Analyst Jordan Permain The mismatch between seaborne coal supply and demand deepened during the week, causing CRU to assess the Premium HCC $17 /t lower w/w at $128 /t, FOB Australia. Demand for seaborne coal in China, India and Europe was weak in the past week. The macroeconomic environment in India continues to […]
The following article discussing the global ferrous derivatives markets was written by David Feldstein. As an independent steel market analyst, advisor and trader, we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Note that Steel Market Update does not take any positions on HRC or scrap trading, and any recommendations or comments […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan Smith Most people believe that minimills, which remelt scrap in electric arc furnaces, have a big cost advantage over integrated mills, which feed ore and coking coal into giant blast furnaces. But such conventional thinking is an oversimplification of the cost comparison. Based on site costs alone, and where steelmaking […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Manjot Singh China has been at the center of coal price upcycles that have taken place this millennium. The commodity supercycle that characterized the early-2000s was fueled by demand growth, especially in emerging markets like China. That bull market reached a peak in 2011 when slowing demand growth was met with […]
The price of iron ore corrected in August with a $32 per dry metric ton decline, while the four-month-long decline in the price of scrap reversed slightly. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through Aug. 21 of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month / month, 3 months / 3 months […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Manjot Singh Coking coal prices have remained steady for another week on the back of mixed signals on the demand side and abundant supply from Australia. On Aug. 27, CRU assessed the Premium HCC, $0.5 /t lower w/w at $154.5 /t, FOB Australia. There were more deals concluded by Chinese buyers […]
The surge in the price of iron ore and the decline in the price of scrap continued through mid-July, benefiting the EAF producers in the U.S. over the integrated mills Table 1 summarizes the price changes through July of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, 3 months/3 months and 12 […]