By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore prices have risen sharply in the past week as the strong Chinese demand has continued and fears of further supply disruptions have emerged in Australia and Brazil. On Tuesday, May 21, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $101.5 /t, which translates to a $6.5 […]
I am in Atlanta speaking at a supplier conference for an OEM both today and again on Thursday. As expected, the questions were about Mexico and Canada and where prices go from here. There were also questions about our index versus the CRU index (different methodologies). I am looking forward to revising and doing it […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to announce the new SMU NexGen Leadership Award in partnership with the Steel Manufacturers Association. The award is designed to recognize and celebrate the excellence of emerging leaders within the greater steel community. As an industry publication and supplier of market intelligence, and host of the premier steel conference in North America, SMU is […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Manjot Singh As has been the case in the last few weeks, Chinese BF utilization rates have remained above 80 percent and rebar inventories have continued to dwindle, suggesting buying appetite for raw materials has been robust in China. In terms of iron ore specifically, inventories at Chinese ports and mills […]
By the CRU Economics Team The Turkish economy is suffering its first recession in a decade. This has had knock-on effects on the global steel market, given Turkey’s prominence in this industry. A key question for the steel market is therefore, how long will the recession in Turkey last? We think that in the most […]
Your invitation from CRU’s steel team: CRU invites you to view the recent steel webinar with CME Group and join us in person on Monday, June 17, for the New York Steel Briefing at the Sheraton Times Square Hotel. Registration for the New York Steel Briefing is required and seats are limited. Please register today […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to announce the new SMU NexGen Leadership Award in partnership with the Steel Manufacturers Association. The award is designed to recognize and celebrate the excellence of emerging leaders within the greater steel community. As an industry publication and supplier of market intelligence, and host of the premier steel conference in North America, SMU is […]
Good afternoon/evening from Davenport, Iowa. Davenport is where the Mississippi River flooded the downtown area a couple of weeks ago. Water levels are down four feet from their highest point, and the flood waters reached the parking lot of our hotel before receding back across the railroad tracks. The river is still in flood stage […]
Steel Market Update is dedicated to assist the greater steel community to attract and maintain young people to the industry. The SMU NexGen Leadership Award, which is in partnership with the Steel Manufacturers Association, is but one step in the process that was begun many years ago. Our Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel prices (delivered to U.S. ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other costs […]
I am in Chicago having spoken to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch gathering last night, and I will be attending the Metals Industry Boy Scout Dinner this evening. The conversations I am having here in Chicago are similar to what we have been reporting for some time now. Steel buyers are concerned and frustrated […]
Ferrous scrap prices are down again in May by roughly $30 for obsolete grades and $40 for prime grades, report Steel Market Update sources. May marks the fourth month this year that has seen scrap prices decline. With the mills reportedly cranking out steel at over 80 percent of their capacity, the apparent weakness in […]
By CRU Analyst Michelle Liu Vale confirmed the suspension of tailings disposal at its Brucutu mine on Tuesday, May 7. After prices fell initially, there was a price rebound and the iron ore price ended up rising by $0.80 /t w/w to $94.90 /t for our assessed 62% Fe fines. On Tuesday, Brazil’s higher court […]
I got a call earlier today asking about a steel publication changing the direction of some of their flat rolled pricing. I responded that I don’t read the other trade publications, and I don’t follow their indices. I do not want to be influenced as I go through the always difficult, and sometimes tedious, process […]
By CRU Research Manager Chris Houlden, CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores and CME Metals Products Manager Sean Kessler. U.S. Midwest HR coil price volatility has increased markedly in recent months as opaque policy decision-making processes and inelasticity of domestic supply have led to large variations in physical market price. Concurrently, volume and open interest on […]
Coking coal, scrap and zinc prices have weakened in the last month. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through April of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month / month, 3 months / 3 months and 12 months / 12 months changes and tells us that at the three-month level only […]
By CRU Cost Economist Ross Cunningham Six months ago, the U.S. surprised the oil market by making a U-turn on its previous decision to impose sanctions on Iranian crude by providing six-month waivers to the eight biggest buyers. These waivers were one of the key reasons leading to oil prices falling by ~30 percent from […]
Another exciting week in the steel industry… A couple of reminders: With four months yet to go we are marching toward 400 registered executives for the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will be held in Atlanta on Aug. 26-28. This is THE premier networking event for the steel industry during the calendar year. Here […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel prices (delivered to U.S. ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other costs […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen The latest Chinese data surprised on the upside. It suggests that the China stimulus is working. But some of the strength is also likely due to one-off factors. As a result, we see the latest data as an indication that the economy is stabilizing rather than accelerating. Recent data […]
SMU contributor Gaurav Chhibbar is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Gaurav’s previous role, he was a trader at Cargill spending time in […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Demand for steelmaking raw materials has improved in April. Chinese steel prices have jumped on rising seasonal demand, particularly from the construction sector. Steel production in the country has also picked up, as indicated by the blast furnace (BF) utilization rate displayed in CRU’s Coking Coal and Iron Ore Dashboards. This has […]
Steel interests in North America and the rest of the world are watching intently to see if the Trump administration grants some tariff relief to Canada and Mexico to clear the way for final approval of the new U.S.-Canada-Mexico Trade Agreement. One possible compromise being discussed (albeit one so far opposed by the U.S. trading […]
First, please be aware that Sunday is Easter and Steel Market Update will not publish an issue on Sunday evening. Our next issue will be on Tuesday, April 23. We have been receiving calls and getting comments associated with our release of the SMU Service Center Inventories Analysis in Sunday evening’s issue where we showed […]
By CRU Analyst Michelle Liu Turkish prices have continued to fall, down $7 /t w/w for the week ending Friday, April 12, to $305 /t CFR for HMS 80:20. Warmer weather has increased supply in the U.S. and Europe, placing downward pressure on scrap prices there. This was compounded by reduced scrap demand on both […]
Flat rolled steel inventories at the service centers rose at the end of March, according to the data providers working with Steel Market Update. SMU has been collecting service center data for almost two years now. Six months back, with the help of the CRU team, we changed the way we were collecting and the […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Matthew Watkins. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the key short-term impacts on the European steel market are likely to be increased delays for material crossing the UK-EU border as well as modifications to the EU safeguard system. Beyond short-term behavior such as stockpiling, there are possible longer-term effects, perhaps […]
US Midwest HRC price volatility has increased markedly in recent months as government policy and inelasticity of domestic supply have led to large variations in physical market price. Concurrently, volume and open interest on the CME’s HRC futures and options contracts, settled on CRU’s US Midwest HRC price (“The CRU”) has surged as physical market […]
For all of you golf fanatics, it was fun to see Tiger Woods win after a 14-year drought at the Masters, and after his serious back injuries that made it look doubtful if he would ever be able to play again, never mind win a Masters Championship. I don’t have the exact count of current […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel prices (delivered to U.S. ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other costs […]