The Chinese government is attempting to make a stand against the extreme pollution plaguing the country. One of the largest polluting industries is the steel industry through its use of coal. The march against pollution is expected to have mixed results when it comes to iron ore and steel prices. Iron ore prices were reported […]
Our next Steel 101 workshop will be held in Toledo, Ohio on April 11-12th. Included will be a tour of the North Star Bluescope steel mill. We should have details and registration available on our website by the end of the week. Late today I received a note from one of my pig iron sources. […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures markets was written by David Feldstein. As Flack Steel’s director of risk management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market and we believe he will provide insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing Futures articles for […]
OK, don’t get freaked out (yet) as the new flat rolled steel base price increases aren’t really impacting the numbers for this week. However, there were a couple of steel mills already seeking higher hot rolled, cold rolled and coated prices prior to the announcement. We did collect some of that data in tonight’s steel […]
The following article was provided to Steel Market Update by Beijing Metal Import and Export Company, Ltd. out of China. It is their view of the Chinese steel markets for the week ending at Sunday, January 8th. After the article we will have some independent comments from another Asian steel trading source of ours who […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. This will explain the difference between our view of the present situation which is subjective and our analysis of trends which is based on the latest facts available. Looking back from the […]
China GDP is expected to slow to 6.5 percent next year and decline to 6.4 percent by third and fourth quarters. A report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) said economic expansion is likely to dip next year due to declines in export demand, investment growth and domestic demand. The Dec. 19 […]
Steel Market Update received the following information about the Chinese steel market through one of our trading sources located in Taiwan. Our source is a very active trader in China trading iron ore, steel and equipment with the Chinese steel mills. Here is some new information about the Chinese steel mills: Things are more complicated […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. This will explain the difference between our view of the present situation which is subjective and our analysis of trends which is based on the latest facts available. At the end of […]
As we discussed earlier this week, higher international prices for iron ore, coking coal, pig iron and steel are helping take ferrous scrap export prices higher. SMU had lunch with one of our scrap/pig iron experts who advised that 80/20 scrap export prices may have reached $280 per metric ton delivered. At the same time, […]
Once per month HARDI* wholesalers conduct a galvanized steel conference call so they can better understand what is happening in the broader markets as they deal with steel pricing, demand and inventory issues. The HARDI monthly call was held on Wednesday, November 9, just one day after the presidential election. Not surprisingly, the future of […]
Steel buyers and steel mill sellers are beginning to come to the same conclusion, the steel mills have the momentum and flat rolled steel prices are beginning to rise. What may be surprising steel buyers, especially those who do not read publications like Steel Market Update, is the pace and the strength of the market […]
ArcelorMittal posted net income of $680 million for third quarter 2016. Steel shipments totaled 20.3 million tonnes, down from 22.1 million tonnes in second quarter and 21.1 million tonnes in Q3 2015. Crude steel production in the NAFTA segment decreased 1.8 percent sequentially to 5.6 million tonnes in third quarter. The NAFTA segment includes the […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) ferrous scrap sources advised us over the weekend that strength in the Ohio Valley, as well as in the export markets, has led to ferrous scrap prices trading higher than originally thought. Talks continue in many of the regions of the country which have not yet completed scrap pricing negotiations for […]
Olympic Steel CEO Michael Siegal believes the election is affecting demand and said service center inventories are particularly low as a result. Olympic Steel executives on the earnings call noted that shipments were better in October than in September but fourth quarter is expected to be slow. Said Siegal, “As you know the fourth quarter […]
After already publishing the article below on our website for our members, we received a note from our primary Chinese price source advising us that prices rose in China today by approximately $61 per metric ton. We were told, “Price on 2.5mm [.0985″] is USD450/mt fob st. lsd. A lot of buyers did not cover […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) is adjusting our Price Momentum Indicator to “Higher” from Neutral. It is our opinion that flat rolled steel prices in the United States and Canada will move higher over the next 30 to 60 days. There are a number of reasons why we have chosen to make this move now, here […]
All eyes this week will be on the scrap dealers and their steel mill customers as they haggle over where ferrous scrap prices will trade for the month of November. The opinion of many in the steel industry is that as scrap prices increase, it will both support the flat rolled steel price announcements already […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), busheling scrap (BUS), and financial futures markets was written by David Feldstein. As Flack Steel’s director of risk management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market and we believe he will provide insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. […]
Steel Market Update has been working on developing new sources to complement some of our original sources out of China. The following information is part of a report we receive once per week from two steel trading companies located in Asia and actively involved with the Chinese steel industry. The first note is from one […]
Steel Market Update scrap sources are advising us to expect ferrous scrap prices have bottomed and will increase once the November negotiations get underway next week with the domestic steel mills. We are hearing scrap prices should increase by a minimum of $10 per gross ton and some items could go up by as much […]
One of our key Asian steel and commodity trading sources has provided SMU with details about the Chinese steel markets as well as what is happening in Asia,including comments about the circumvention suit which involves Vietnam: Export offers from China have basically risen by USD20/mt in the past two weeks, and it has become a […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Steel What a difference a week makes. Last week we were flush with HR offers but buyers were scarce this week the market view appears […]
For those who have not been members for a long period of time or who may be new to Steel Market Update this section, my Final Thoughts, is the one area where I get to pontificate (provide my opinion) on subjects of interest to me. Today I want to briefly address the elephant in the […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. This will explain the difference between our view of the present situation which is subjective and our analysis of trends which is based on the latest facts available. At the end of […]
Freight reports are mixed for August and September. Seaborne freight is seeing a resurgence in volume and pricing while U.S. truck, rail and river freight has been somewhat weak. August was reported as a good month for cargo shipments on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Seaborne An increase in China demand for coking […]
After making a big move this past week, spot flat rolled steel prices out of the domestic steel mills remained range bound with only minor adjustments as steel buyers try to digest what they need to do next. Steel buyers have been telling Steel Market Update that there is a disparity between the mini mills […]
Earlier today Steel Market Update (SMU) participated in the monthly steel conference call hosted by HARDI. The call is for those wholesalers who supply galvanized sheet and coil to the HVAC mechanical contractors. During the course of the discussion it became clear that the wholesalers are quite concerned about the drop in galvanized spot prices […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. This will explain the difference between our view of the present situation which is subjective and our analysis of trends which is based on the latest facts available. At the end of […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. It is important to understand the difference between our view of the present situation which is subjective and our analysis of trends which is based on the latest facts available. The total […]