From the CRU weekly Steel Monitor: Most Chinese product prices were either unchanged or marginally lower this week, except for HR coil, that has fallen RMB220 /t ($32 /t) over three weeks. Although this keeps Chinese prices at a relatively high level, it has created caution and may now indicate a limit to how far rallies in […]
Following on a big jump in ferrous scrap in September, scrap prices are expected to move higher for obsolete grades and sideways or higher for prime grades in October, lending further support to rising finished steel prices. “Domestic steel capacity utilization and prices are rising, but the large price increase last month has not resulted […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. David has over 20 years of financial market trading experience and has been active in the ferrous futures space for eight years. David earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in economics, statistics and analytical finance. […]
This week’s comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that the large price advantage held by U.S-producers over foreign imports is rapidly loosing steam, according to the latest SMU and CRU indices. The price differentials between domestic HRC compared to foreign imports had widened over the last few months to reach record highs […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary and found in CRU’s Zinc Monitor US steel mills have reportedly been taking more refined zinc over the past few weeks and the outlook for Q4 is looking slightly more positive according to market contacts. There have been suggestions that the uptick in spot demand from mills could be […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen and Economist Anissa Chabib The U.S. economy has seen a faster than expected resumption of economic activity since the “stay at home” orders ended in May. Most notable has been the improvement in the labor market. The number of people who lost their jobs in March and April was […]
By CRU Prices Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service A combination of increased seasonal demand, low service center inventories, unplanned outages, spike in scrap prices and government restrictions on Brazilian slab imports have added fuel to the usual seasonal uptick and turned it into a surge. After reaching a bottom in mid-August, […]
Flat Rolled = 48.6 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 56.9 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled Service centers’ flat rolled steel supply reached its lowest point of the year in August, as shipments increased and intake remained nearly flat month on month. In August, service centers carried 48.6 shipping days of supply of flat […]
Nothing like a spike in steel prices to give the market a much needed attitude adjustment, one the mills and service centers can really use as the pandemic continues to weigh on day-to-day operations and individuals’ emotions. Steel prices have jumped by nearly $140 per ton in the last month. SMU’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index, […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have stayed elevated in the past week and even exceeded $130 /dmt, before falling back on Tuesday to just below that level. Weakening margins in the Chinese steel industry held prices from rising further and seaborne supply improved in the […]
We can all agree steel prices are on an upward trajectory right now. How high they will go, and for how long, is another matter. SMU’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday puts the benchmark price for hot rolled steel at $580 per ton, up about $40 in the past week. U.S. Steel, […]
The global steel industry is one of the biggest culprits in the climate change debate, responsible for some 7 percent of harmful carbon dioxide emissions each year. Every ton of steel produced in 2018 released 1.85 tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Thus the steel industry is under enormous pressure to reduce its carbon footprint. Fortunately, […]
By CRU Analyst Kevin Bai, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Domestic sheet prices in China continued to reach new highs for the year alongside further improvement in underlying sheet demand in combination with limited supply. Domestic CR coil prices went up by RMB290 /t to RMB4720 /t and HDG sheet by RMB140 /t to […]
By CRU Research Manager Paul Butterworth, from CRU’s Steel Raw Materials and Steel Costs CRU price and cost forecasts suggest that the steel sector generally will return close to steady-state, or “through-cycle,” levels of profitability over the five-year forecast period. However, as our analysis highlights, steady-state profitability of individual steel mills has varied widely in […]
This week’s comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S-produced steel continues to hold a price advantage over foreign imports, but that price advantage is lessening due to the rapid rise in domestic prices, according to SMU and CRU indices. The price differentials between domestic HRC compared to foreign imports had widened over […]
Our futures contributor, Tim Stevenson of Metal Edge Partners, raises a good question in his column this week. With the mills moving steel prices higher, have buyers restocked enough to stay out of the market? “If so, service centers and end users can step away from spot buys and wait for prices to fall again. […]
Ferrous scrap prices exceeded even the bullish expectations heading into September as the market settled up $20-35/GT on prime scrap and up $30-55/GT on obsolescent grades, depending on the region of the country. Sources expect prices to move still higher in October, lending support to higher finished steel prices. Demand from U.S. mills picked up […]
By CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The iron ore price rose further last week and is now approaching the $130 /dmt mark as demand from Chinese steel mills remains strong and seaborne supply declined w/w. On Tuesday, Sept. 8, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $128.0 /dmt, […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 9.9 percent m/m in September to 225.5. Rising steel demand internationally in combination with tighter markets has driven relatively large price increases in every market we assess. Market sentiment is bullish for October and, barring any […]
By CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor In the past week, iron ore prices remained steady. Despite somewhat lower demand from hot metal production, pre-holiday restocking activity kept iron ore port outflows at a high level while the seaborne supply registered one of the best weeks in the year so […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook Since lockdown restrictions eased in May the global recovery has been strong, but with marked differences across countries and sectors. The strong recovery in China is partly due to its better virus trajectory over the summer, which has allowed confidence to return. This has […]
The benchmark hot rolled steel price has jumped back over the psychological line of $500 per ton, to $515 by SMU’s current estimate, which is a positive sign for steel demand, but it begs the question: How high will it go and for how long? SMU asked steel buyers how much of the $40-60 per […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Raw Materials Monitor The iron ore price has risen again in the past week as offloading activities have continued while demand from China’s steel mills has been robust. On Tuesday, Sept. 1, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $124.5 /dmt, up by $1.5 /dmt […]
Following on a similar move by the plate mills earlier in the week, flat rolled mills announced price changes Wednesday and Thursday ranging from $40 to $60 per ton. Nucor’s Sheet Mill Group notified customers today, Aug. 27, that it has increased base prices on new orders of hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel […]
This week’s comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S-produced steel continues to hold a heavy price advantage over foreign imports, albeit slightly less than mid-August, according to SMU and CRU indices. After slightly shrinking in May, the differentials between domestic HRC compared to German, Italian and East/Southeast Asian imports widened over the last […]
The SMU Steel Summit 2020 was off to a strong start on Day 1 covering a wide variety of topics from new capacity to international trade. SMU President John Packard officially opened the conference on Monday leading a panel discussion about the steel industry in Mexico, the Middle East, Turkey and China. Ternium CEO Maximo Vedoya […]
First, the link to the SMU Steel Summit Virtual Conference platform is www.smusteelsummit2020.com From there you enter your email address and the password which was sent to you. Here is what you can expect to happen on Monday, Aug. 24. There will be people available live on the site to assist you (green button in […]
First, the link to the SMU Steel Summit Virtual Conference platform is www.smusteelsummit2020.com From there you enter your email address and the password which was sent to you. If you have not yet registered for the conference please click here or go to www.smusteelsummit.com Here is what you can expect to happen on Monday, Aug. […]
After knocking it out of the park during the first day of our conference, we are going to shift into cruise mode as we hit on the economy and the major end-use segments affecting the industry. We have two “new” mill CEO’s joining our conference for the first time. The Nucor and U.S. Steel exec’s […]
After knocking it out of the park during the first day of our conference, we are going to shift into cruise mode as we hit on the economy and the major end-use segments affecting the industry. We have two “new” mill CEO’s joining our conference for the first time. The Nucor and U.S. Steel exec’s […]