We’re less than one month away from the Tampa Steel Conference. The event will be at the Tampa Marriott Water Street hotel again, so mark your calendar for Sunday-Tuesday, Feb. 5-7. There are nearly 375 attendees registered, and the list is growing daily. Keep in mind that this is the high season for tourism in Florida, and […]
Starting after the recovery of the financial system from the 2008 global financial crisis, and continuing until Covid-19 hit, the economy was remarkably stable and consistent. Demand for aluminum in general grew at a steady pace, with some end-use segments outperforming historical averages. For financial markets, the running joke became “stock prices go up.” Since 2020, […]
Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) continues to hold a competitive price advantage over imported steel, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis. US HRC is approximately 3–13% cheaper than foreign prices this week, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins, and any applicable tariffs. This is the tenth consecutive week US prices have […]
At the start of each year, CRU continues to feature top expectations and outliers for the year ahead. This annual list of expectations is a thought piece, meant to stimulate internal discussions, scenario analysis, and strategic planning around potential risks to the markets we cover. This 2023 edition covers six expectations and three potential outliers. […]
With 2022 now in the past, the door has closed on one of the most volatile years for the aluminum industry. Supply chain disruptions as a residual fallout from Covid-19 and elevated levels of geopolitical risk raised uncertainty throughout the value chain. The shift in import trends has also been a major topic and is […]
Prices of imported hot-rolled coil (HRC) remain higher than domestic steel, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis. US HRC is approximately 2–12% cheaper than foreign prices this week, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins and any applicable tariffs. This is the eighth consecutive week domestic prices have been cheaper […]
In our column of Nov. 4, we updated you on the progress that Novelis and Steel Dynamics (SDI) were making on executing on their planned two mills. Since that time, nothing has really changed. That perhaps is profound in and of itself, in that we have nothing new to tell you about the status of […]
Sheet markets in most areas of the world have established a price floor within the last week. Still, in all markets we cover, demand weakness persists and threatens to either cap potential price increases or even reverse them. The CRUspi was little changed month-on-month (MoM) in December at 190.8 after nearly all markets reached a […]
The LME aluminum three-month price has found a higher trading range and has settled in near the $2,450/metric-ton mark this week. The price rallied by over $60/metric ton after lower-than-expected US inflation data was seen in the market as a positive sign that inflation is cooling. Yet as the week closed out on Dec. 16, […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor Michael D’Angelo is a researcher and trader at Marex. In his role, Mike performs fundamental and quantitative analysis, which directly leads to actionable trading/risk management strategies across the base, precious, and ferrous metals derivative spaces. Prior to joining Marex, Mike received a BA in economics with a minor in finance from […]
Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) continues to hold a competitive price advantage over imported steel, though that advantage is slightly easing, according to our latest analysis. US HRC is theoretically 3–13% cheaper than foreign prices this week, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins, and any applicable tariffs. This is the seventh consecutive week domestic prices […]
There had been some debate around whether mills would announce another price hike before the holidays. That debate is settled. Cleveland-Cliffs, one of four major sheet producers in the US, aims to increase spot prices by $50/ton, and has set a target minimum base price for HRC at $750/ton. In the style of the former […]
After surging in late November to a five-month high, Steel Market Update’s (SMU) Steel Buyers Sentiment Index slipped three points through Dec. 8th. Our Future Buyers Sentiment Index also fell a few points from it’s previous high, down three points in comparison to two weeks prior. Buyers Sentiment remains strong overall, and Current Sentiment is […]
After surging in late November to a five-month high, Steel Market Update’s (SMU) Steel Buyers Sentiment Index slipped three points through Dec. 8th. Our Future Buyers Sentiment Index also fell a few points from it’s previous high, down three points in comparison to two weeks prior. Buyers Sentiment remains strong overall, and Current Sentiment is […]
The World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute panel has ruled against the US on its implementation of Section 232 tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. Norway brought this case. There are pending cases on Section 232 from China, India, Russia, Switzerland, and Turkey—all challenging the legitimacy of US arguments the tariffs were essential to protecting US […]
Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) continues to hold a competitive price advantage over imported steel, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis. US HRC is approximately 6–15% cheaper than foreign prices this week, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins, and any applicable tariffs. This is the sixth consecutive week US prices […]
In this Global Economic Outlook, we look ahead to 2023 and outline our top ten calls for the global economy. These include predictions on inflation, the war in Ukraine, electric vehicles and Covid-19 in China. No. 1: Global Growth Will Slow From 2022 We expect both the US and Europe to experience recessions over the […]
By CRU Research Analyst Yusu Mao, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Turkish scrap prices started to increase significantly last week. Accordingly, our assessment for HMS 1/2 80:20 rose to $374 per ton CFR based on two new deals, up $35 per ton week-on-week (WoW) and up $26 per ton month-on-month (MoM). Scrap sellers have been […]
2022: A Year of Unprecedented Change and Volatility We entered 2022 expecting plenty of change in aluminum and the market delivered more than its fair share of twists and turns. There were 3 macroeconomic effects that rippled through the entire global economy: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent global energy prices soaring, as they “weaponized” their […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor Michael D’Angelo is a researcher and trader at Marex. In his role, Mike performs fundamental and quantitative analysis, which directly leads to actionable trading/risk management strategies across the base, precious, and ferrous metals derivative spaces. Prior to joining Marex, Mike received a BA in economics with a minor in finance from Princeton […]
Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) continues to hold a sizeable price advantage over imports, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis on foreign and domestic prices. US HRC is approximately 5–12% cheaper than foreign prices this week, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins and any applicable tariffs. This is the fifth consecutive week that US […]
Rumors of a holiday-season price increase continue to ping pong around the market. Will mills announce one on Wednesday ahead of Thanksgiving, in early/mid-December, or not until early next year? Let’s leave the timing aside for a moment and consider why those rumors have been so persistent. On the spot market side, we’ve seen some […]
By CRU Research Analyst Aaron Kearney-Keaveny, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) for November fell by 3.5% month-on-month (MoM), to 298.3, which is the lowest level since December 2020. Global scrap demand continues to be undermined by weak steel market fundamentals in key markets. Over the past few months, […]
New Commitments in Middle East Around Carbon Capture and Alcoa Gives Updates on Elysis Technology We were struck this week by reports from Saudi Arabia that the Ma’aden smelter intends to pursue a carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) approach to reducing its carbon footprint. During the current COP27 event in Egypt, Ma’aden’ Senior Vice […]
Prices between imported hot-rolled coil (HRC) and domestic steel have further diverged, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic price analysis. US HRC is approximately 9–14% cheaper than foreign prices this week, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins and any applicable tariffs. This spread has been growing for the last four to […]
A new international initiative aimed at setting a global standard for green steel has been launched and is being led by major players in the US steel industry. The founding members of the new Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC) include Nucor Corp., Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), Commercial Metals Co. (CMC), Spain’s Celsa Group, the Steel […]
By CRU Senior Analyst, Puneet Paliwal, from CRU’s Scrap, DRI/HBI & Pig Iron Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) for November fell by 3.5% month-on-month (MoM), to 298.3, which is the lowest level since December 2020. Global scrap demand continues to be undermined by weak steel market fundamentals in key markets, causing prices to stay […]
The London Metal Exchange (LME) consultation with industry has come and gone with no action. The Exchange on Friday, Nov. 11, published its response to submissions from the industry on the issue of Russian metals. As a refresher, the LME asked for opinion on three options: • Do nothing • Impose limits on the warranting of […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. Rock provides customers attached to the steel industry with commodity price risk management services and market intelligence. RTA is registered with the National Futures Association as a Commodity Trade Advisor. David has over 20 years of professional trading experience and has been active […]
Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) continues to hold the upper hand over imported steel when it comes to price, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic price analysis. US HRC is approximately 4–7% cheaper than foreign prices this week, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins and any applicable tariffs. Prior to this week, […]