Written by: Sandy Williams Iron ore had its biggest slide in seven weeks dropping 2.4 percent on Tuesday to $145.20 per dry metric ton (Fe 62) at the Chinese port of Tianjin (source: The Steel Index). Ore shipments out of Australia have been slowed by a series of seasonal hurricanes forcing sporadic port closures. Although […]
“No demand- it is like raising ticket prices to see a last place team.” – Service Center Domestic mill price increases have a way of touching the nerve of the steel community. Whenever there is a price increase announcement and Steel Market Update (SMU) conducts our next steel market survey – we tend to gather […]
Written by: Andre Marshall, Crunchrisk LLC So far on the SP we have made it as high as 1532 on Feb 19th only to have retrace back to 1490 area before rebounding the last two days to 1515-1520 area. The market is becoming a bit more volatile. Poor fundamentals and money chasing returns will provide for […]
Manufacturing companies reported service center spot prices as either stable (82 percent) or decreasing (18 percent) during our most recent SMU steel market survey. When compared to the results taken at the beginning of February we found no longer were any of the manufacturing companies reporting any attempts by the distributors to raise prices. In […]
Written by: Bradley Clark, Director of Steel Trading, Kataman Metals U.S. Midwest #1 Busheling Ferrous Scrap (AMM) Firm on Weather Concerns As the month has progressed sentiment is starting to fall solidify around the idea that busheling prices may rebound $10-20 in March. Worsening weather conditions in the Midwest and dealers trying to recoup last […]
CSN has been looking to expand their operations in the United States ever since they acquired the bankrupt Heartland Steel and turned it into CSN, LLC. The Terre Haute, Indiana rolling facility is capable of taking hot bands and converting them to either cold rolled or galvanized steel – with the vast majority of the […]
Written by: Brad Clark, Director of Steel Trading, Kataman Metals U.S. Midwest #1 Busheling Ferrous Scrap (AMM) Softens as Prices Drop 13.73 in February The physical market came in this week down $13.73 to $375.24 in line with expectations. Mill order book’s remain weak for the most part outside of auto industry demand (the major […]
Written by Sandy Williams Essar Steel Minnesota LLC announced it will supply 3.5 million metric tonnes of standard and fluxed iron ore pellets annually to ArcelorMittal North American operations. The agreement is for a ten year period and will commence during the second half of Essar’s fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. Essar Steel Minnesota, […]
Written by: John Packard Steel Market Update did not move our Price Momentum Indicator out of Neutral where we have been “stuck” for the past 10 – now going on 11 weeks. The market lacks clear direction – or maybe a better way to view it is the market lacks personality. This is perhaps best […]
Written by: Sandy Williams ArcelorMittal closed a difficult year with a net loss of $3.73 billion for 2012. The loss included a $4.3 million write-down on its European assets and a $1.3 billion loss from idled and closed plants during restructuring. In comparison, net income was $2.3 billion in 2011. “2012 was a very difficult […]
Written by: Andre Marshall, Crunchrisk LLC Financial Markets: Big news today was that the Euro cratered on the back of Draghi’s comments about the Euro from, in USD terms, $1.357 to $1.34. Unless, of course, you think that ArcelorMittal losing $3.99 billion in the Quarter was bigger news. Ouch! I don’t think any of us are […]
Written by: Brad Clark, Director of Steel Trading, Kataman Metals U.S. Midwest #1 Busheling Ferrous Scrap (AMM) Uneventful Before Next Month Pricing Begins The physical busheling market has been characteristically quiet this week as both dealers and mills jockey for position ahead of next week when price negotiations will begin in full swing. All signs […]
Written by Sandy Williams United States Steel Corporation reported a net loss of $50 million for the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to net income of $44 million in the third quarter and a net loss of $211 million in fourth quarter 2011. Total earnings for the year 2012 showed a net loss of […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Steel Dynamics doubled its fourth quarter earnings from last year. Net income was $60.57 in fourth quarter 2012 compared to $30.20 million in 2011, and $13 million in third quarter 2012. Results included a positive tax adjustment of $16 million. Steel shipments for the quarter dropped slightly from 1.464 million tons […]
Written by: Sandy Williams AK Steel reported net loss of 230.4 million for the fourth quarter 2012 compared to a net loss of 193.9 million in fourth quarter of 2011. Results include a pre-tax pension corridor charge of $157.3 million and a non-cash income tax charge of $96.4 million. Excluding these charges AK Steel […]
Written by: Andre Marshall, Crunchrisk Financial Markets The last of the obstacles to an improving economy, the debt ceiling and the spending cuts etc seem to be rolling over. The Republicans have cleverly put in a temporary debt ceiling increase covering us until May which will be after the budget talks in April and the […]
A tropical storm shut down ports in Australia on Tuesday stopping shipment of nearly half of the world’s iron ore trade. Port Hedland, Dampier and Cape Lambert shut down operations as vessels moved out to sea and away from the area. The ports service the mines Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group and Atlas […]
On Tuesday, January 15th, Steel Market Update (SMU) began our second steel survey of the New Year. Our surveys are focused on the flat rolled steel market and are conducted by inviting slightly less than 700 companies who are asked to participate by invitation. Of those participating in last week’s survey 48 percent of the […]
Written by: Andre Marshall, Crunchrisk LLC Financial Markets On the equities markets we hit a new 5 year high reaching 1485 on SP 500 today. In this current rally you might recall our target point for this move is 1488 and so we may be near a point for a little retracement. If this current move […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has developed an exceptional basic steel training program covering the steel industry (flat and long products). Our two day workshop, which we call – Steel 101: Introduction to Steelmaking & Market Fundamentals – is meant to provide a comprehensive review of the way steel is made by the blast/BOF or electric […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Iron ore prices are at a 15 month high but are unlikely to stay that way say analysts. Currently, 62% Fe ore is at $158 per tonne, soaring from November’s price of $116 and almost doubling from the low of $87 per tonne in September. Analysts say the increase is a […]
For the past seven weeks, Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Indicator has been stuck in “Neutral” waiting for something to push prices in one direction or another. When we made the adjustment the week of November 27, 2012 from Higher to Neutral our SMU range for hot rolled coil was $620-$660 per ton (average […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Natural gas is providing cost savings for steel plants while at the same time creating more demand for steel products used in pipelines, drilling equipment and rigs. It is a win-win situation for the steel and the natural gas industries One of the ways natural gas is utilized by the steel […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Iron ore buyers have been watching with concern the path of Cyclone Narelle as it approaches the western shore of Australia. The west and northwest region contains 93 percent of Australia’s iron ore mines. In past years cyclones and flooding have disrupted mine operations for coal and iron ore sending steel […]
Written by: Damon Sun, Daido International Asian markets definitively heated up on the back of the increased iron ore prices to China. Iron ore (63.5%) is trading around $160/dmt basis, which 3 months ago it was trading near $110-$120/dmt basis. The price increase is a bit unusual in terms there doesn’t seem to be an […]
Written by Brad Clark, Director of Steel Trading, Kataman Metals U.S. Midwest #1 Busheling Ferrous Scrap (AMM) Heads South on Warmer Winter Weather Historically January is the strongest month for busheling prices as cold weather constrains supply. This year however an unseasonably warm winter has kept a lid on any price spikes this past month […]
Written by Brad Clark, Director of Steel Trading, Kataman Metals Settlement prices retreated this week on the CME U.S. Midwest Hot Rolled futures contract as the expected New Year’s jubilation never materialized. Volumes the past week surged as traders placed their bets for a breakout of the recent sideways trading range the market has experienced […]
The one other area bearing watching is the spot iron ore market in China. Based on recent TSI numbers 62 percent Fe fines were referenced at $158.5/dmt as of January 8th. Over the past four weeks, 62 percent fines have risen by 27 percent and are almost double their fifty-two week lows of $86.7/dmt. Our […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Schnitzer Steel, one of the largest U.S. manufacturer and exporter of recycled ferrous materials, reported adjusted operating income of $3 million for the first quarter of 2013, a drop of 81 percent from $15 million reported in first quarter 2011. The adjustment reflected a $2 million pre-tax restructuring charge associated with […]
Financial Markets Who knew it was so easy, all the Republicans had to do was to agree to over $600 bln in tax increases, kick the can down the road on spending cuts by 2-3 months and voila!; No Fiscal Cliff! And with that the markets were off. The SP has gained 60 points in […]