Tag: Iron Ore

The last article I wrote on Thursday, July 13, pointed to the surprising rallies in the August and September futures, while noting the August future trading to just below its multi-year down trendline.

U.S. Steel has announced a collaboration with Google Cloud to build applications using Google Cloud’s generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) technology.

H2 Green Steel is partnering with global mining and metals company Rio Tinto and Brazilian miner Vale for the supply of direct-reduction iron (DRI) ore pellets for the company’s green steel production in Sweden. 

Iron ore prices remained elevated in July, averaging $112 /dmt for the month, unchanged from June.

Cleveland-Cliffs swung to a profit in the second quarter after losing money in the first.

Cleveland-Cliffs swung to a profit in the second quarter after losing money in the first. The Cleveland-based steelmaker and iron ore miner predicted that the good times would continue to roll into the second half on what is said was continued strength in automotive demand. “While the performance of our automotive clients continues to improve, […]

Over the last month, the iron ore price has shown more weakness as fewer participants in the market maintain a positive outlook based on more stimulus measures in China. Simultaneously, on the supply side, Australia followed seasonal trends with a marginal y/y increase. Recovered Brazilian volumes have also begun to weigh on the market. Supply […]

Over the last month, the iron ore price has shown more weakness as fewer participants in the market maintain a positive outlook based on more stimulus measures in China. Simultaneously, on the supply side, Australia followed seasonal trends with a marginal y/y increase. Recovered Brazilian volumes have also begun to weigh on the market. Supply […]

Workers at Cleveland Cliffs’ Northshore Mining in Minnesota have joined the United Steelworkers (USW) union.

Ternium and Tenaris have upped their stake in Brazilian steelmaker Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais S.A. (Usiminas). Ternium’s Brazilian subsidiary Confab Industrial S.A., Ternium Investments, and Ternium Argentina, collectively known as the T/T group within the controlling group of Usiminas, closed on a previously announced acquisition of 68.7 million ordinary shares of Usiminas. The shares […]

European sheet prices have declined sharply by €112-146 per metric ton ($110-144 per net ton) month-on-month (MoM), around 12-18% across all sheet products. In CRU’s latest assessment, German hot-rolled coil decreased by €125 MoM to €689 per metric ton ($680 per net ton), while Italian HR coil saw a drop of €146 to €657 per […]

H2 Green Steel has entered into a multi-year deal with Cargill Metals to supply the company with low-carbon emission steel. The Swedish sustainable steelmaker said in a press release Monday that the deal “aims to accelerate global ferrous supply chain decarbonization.” The release noted that Singapore-based Cargill Metals, part of global conglomerate Cargill, “connects different parts […]

The July Midwest HRC future started February just below $800, rallied $325 in just over a month peaking at $1,115 on March 9. Over the next 81 days, the July future basically went full circle, falling $311 to just over $800 on June 1. Since the start of June, the July future has rallied almost […]

The forest fires raging in Canada caused rail interruptions for Champion Iron last week. With the fires now subsiding in the area, the company reports a resumption in rail services between its Bloom Lake mine and the port of Sept-Îles on the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Quebec. Mining activities continued at Bloom Lake while […]

Rio Tinto said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese steelmaker Baowu to explore projects in China and Australia to help decarbonize the steel value chain. The global metals and mining company commented that the move follows the recently announced $2-billion Western Range joint venture in the Pilbara region of western Australia […]

Go figure, in the last month, HR spot has continued to decline. The index tied to CME HR futures has given up $140/ST ($1,130/ST to $990/ST). A look at the fundamentals would appear to support the latest market direction. The list includes declining steelmaking component prices (zinc, coking coal, iron ore and scrap), a sharply […]

The Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) is starting to idle its mine, concentrator and pellet plant near Labrador City because of the impact of wildfires in Quebec province.   The actions follow the Rio Tinto-owned company suspending transport on its 418km Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway (QNS & L) linking the mine to […]

Domestic hot-rolled coil prices are down $55 per ton ($2.75 per cwt), the sharpest such decline we’ve seen all year. If this feels like an echo of June 2022, that’s because it is. Check out the chart below: A year ago, prices were falling hard as the shock of the war in Ukraine faded along […]

Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, contact Lindsey Fox at lindsey@steelmarketupdate.com. Prices of steelmaking raw materials have been largely on the decline over the last 30 days, as they were the month prior, the exception being pig […]

Governments need to speed up permitting of new mines to boost the chances of meeting a surge in demand for raw materials vital to feed the transition to clean energy, according to Teck’s CEO Jonathan Price. “Across government and industry, there is growing awareness that supporting the low-carbon transition and our growing population means meeting […]

I wanted a fresh perspective on the steel market this week, so I turned to a new voice – namely, ChatGPT. I won’t weigh in on whether the AI-driven chatbot is a useful tool, an extinction-level threat, or just another shiny object. That said, ChatGPT has been available publicly since Nov. 30, 2022. And it […]

Cleveland-Cliffs has been granted state mineral leases for over 2,600 acres of iron ore in Itasca County, Minn., the company announced on May 25. The leases are at the Nashwauk mine site located in the Iron Range region, just north of Grand Rapids, Minn. Cliffs said this approval is a final action and the company has now […]

CME Midwest HRC futures continue to be under pressure. Every month from June through March has declined since the start of May. The July and August futures were hardest hit, dropping $50 and $53, respectively, through today’s close. These two months outpacing the others lower has flattened the curve.   Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein […]

Scrap price falls have continued, now affecting all major markets. Previously, the market weakness was due to macroeconomic concerns but is now due to weak steel demand. Turkish scrap buying has been underwhelming, while Chinese scrap consumption has been reeling back as the steel outlook turns sour. Poor Steel Demand and Production Weigh on Scrap […]

The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) for May fell by 6.6% month over month (m/m) to 331.0, registering its sharpest m/m decline since July 2022. While Turkish demand for metallics has stayed underwhelming due to lower-than-expected reconstruction works, steelmakers elsewhere have adopted a wait-and-see approach until steel prices stabilize. Sharp reductions in steel prices were […]

Weather events significantly disrupted commodity markets in 2022, fueling already significant price volatility. La Niña has ended in Australia, but other weather events and permanent climate change continue to impact global commodity supply chains. Weather – A Significant Disruptor in 2022 Heightened seasonal weather and extreme weather events disrupted multiple commodity markets in 2022. Heavy […]

Cleveland-Cliffs has progressed in its attempt to secure iron ore mineral leases at its land near Nashwauk, Minn. An agreement has been reached with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and is up for review by the Minnesota Executive Council on May 25, Lourenco Goncalves, Cliffs’ chairman, president, and CEO, said in a statement […]

The prime scrap and metallic shortage in the US will continue over the next few years, according to Cleveland-Cliffs’ top executive.  “Our conviction that this country’s prime scrap and metallic shortage will continue to tighten over the coming years is at the core of our strategy,” Cliffs’ chairman, president, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said during […]

Russian mining and steel company Metalloinvest has been added to the US sanctions list. On April 12, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed the sanctions targeting the vast holdings of one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires, Alisher Usmanov, including Moscow-based Metalloinvest and its parent company USM Holdings. The measures are meant […]

Some people like to talk scrap, but not many talk as much scrap as CRU’s Senior Analyst, Alexandra (Alex) Anderson.  We sat down with Alex ahead of the ISRI conference to discuss the role scrap plays in the steel industry. A lightly edited version of the interview is below. Steel Market Update: How long have […]