Monthly oil production in the U.S. declined sharply in February as inventories increased. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has declined in the last month. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) FOB Cushing, Okla., reached $66.24 / barrel on April 20 and had declined to $60.97 on May 13. The total […]
In this report, we examine the change in currency values of the 16 pre-eminent global steel and iron ore trading nations. The currencies of these 16 don’t necessarily follow the broad index value of the U.S. dollar. In fact, at any given time, some are always moving in the opposite direction. The latest value of […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, decreased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 1 to 987, with oil rigs down 3 and gas rigs up 2. Compared to this time last year, the 987 count is […]
The following article discussing the global ferrous derivatives markets was written by David Feldstein. As an independent steel market analyst, advisor and trader, we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Note that Steel Market Update does not take any positions on HRC or scrap trading, and any recommendations made by […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Several notices have been published in the last few days, signaling the new reality of the contentious trade negotiations between the U.S. and China. USTR issued a notice, which has not yet been seen in the Federal Register, […]
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 […]
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 […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, decreased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 2 to 988, with oil rigs down 2 and gas rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, the 988 count is down […]
Canada’s Russel Metals reported a solid performance in first-quarter 2019, though the company does not expect the market to keep pace with the record-setting year in 2018. “We think 2019 is going to be a very good year for Russel, but more similar to 2017,” said President and CEO John Reid during the quarterly conference […]
Global manufacturing activity appeared lackluster in April. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI hovered just above the no change mark at 50.3, down from 50.5 in March, and at its lowest reading since June 2016. “The global manufacturing sector remained subdued at the start of the second quarter, with the PMI barely above the 50.0 […]
Note: this article was corrected on 5/3/2019; scrap will be down by $20-$30 per ton-in May, not falling to $230 per ton as previously stated. Ryerson Holding Corp. is expecting a better second half for the steel industry despite some weakening economic data and inventory issues. “Last year was a very unusual time for our […]
Earlier this week the U.S. Department of Commerce released the latest foreign steel import license data. Based on this data, the trend is for 2.8 million net tons of foreign steel imports to arrive in the United States during the month of April. This is essentially unchanged from March, but higher than the 2.4 million […]
Worthington Industries, Inc., has promoted Jeff Klingler to president of Steel Processing and Eric Smolenski to president of Pressure Cylinders. “Jeff and Eric are both proven leaders at Worthington; they will be excellent additions to our executive team,” said John McConnell, Chairman and CEO. “Jeff has a deep knowledge of our Steel business and has […]
Monthly oil production in the U.S. in January was second only to the all-time high set in December 2018. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil had recovered to $63.43/barrel on April 15, up from its recent low of $44.48 on Dec. 27. On April 23, Economy.com wrote: “Oil prices rebounded in the first […]
SSAB Americas was a strong contributor for SSAB’s global steel business in the first quarter of 2019. The Americas segment turned in a solid performance with an EBITDA margin of 23 percent and record profit of $129 million due to higher steel prices. Sales increased 45 percent from the first quarter of 2018 to $3.363 […]
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 […]
Caterpillar manufacturing costs escalated in first quarter by $375 million compared to a year ago on higher steel prices, freight and variable labor costs. “These higher costs, while unfavorable, were improved from the fourth quarter levels. Material costs included a direct tariff expense in the first quarter of about $70 million, in line with what […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, decreased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 21 to 991, with oil rigs down 20 and gas rigs down 1. Compared to this time last year, the 991 count is […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum posted a good first quarter with net sales of $2.96 billion, increasing 7.2 percent year-over-year and 4.1 percent from the fourth quarter. Net income jumped 122 percent from the fourth quarter to $190.1 million. Tons sold increased 5.2 percent from the fourth quarter to 1.5 million tons, but were slightly below […]
Global steel demand will top 1.75 billion metric tons by the end of next year, despite economic headwinds in many parts of the globe, predicts the World Steel Association in its April 2019 Short Range Outlook. Worldwide, steel demand will increase by 1.3 percent this year to 1,735 Mt, followed by further 1 percent growth […]
A long-term feud between Boeing in the U.S. and Airbus in Europe is coming to a head. Tuesday the U.S. threatened to impose $11.2 billion of retaliatory tariffs on European goods in response to the continued subsidization of the Airbus manufacturer. “This case has been in litigation for 14 years, and the time has come […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released updated import license data on Tuesday evening, with new March license estimates up slightly to 2.76 million tons. These latest figures would be above the three-month moving average (3MMA, through final January data), but below the 12-month moving average (12MMA). When removing the semi-finished (mostly slabs) licenses from the […]
Residents near U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works are in an uproar over plans to allow New Mexico-based Merrion Oil & Gas to drill for natural gas in the Edgar Thomson Plant. U.S. Steel has leased 10 acres of land at the plant in Braddock, Pa., to Merrion Oil to construct three fracking wells that will […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released license data for foreign steel coming into the United States. Based on the data received and reported through April 2, March imports are expected to come in slightly higher than February at 2.6-2.7 million net tons. When removing the semi-finished (mostly slabs) licenses from the data, the finished steel […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, increased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs rose by 19 to 1,025, with oil rigs up 15 and gas rigs up 4. Compared to this time last year, the 1,025 count is […]
Raw materials prices have lacked direction in the last month. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through March 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 iron ore and pig iron declined in […]
Construction spending increased 1.0 percent in February following a 2.5 percent gain in January, reported the Associated General Contractors of America in its latest analysis of government data. Construction spending totaled $1.32 trillion in February, up 1.0 percent from the January rate and a gain of 1.1 percent compared to February 2018. Public construction accounted […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison Data released for Q1 2019 have been largely positive. The ISM Manufacturing survey reflects a moderating rate of expansion, but the reading of 54.2 in February shows a solid level of manufacturing activity with new orders, output, employment and backlogs squarely in “expansion” territory. Housing disappointed in 2018, but […]
The spot price of West Texas Intermediate FOB Cushing, Okla., had a recent peak on Oct. 3 of $76.40/barrel. The price declined to $44.48 on Dec. 27, but recovered to $59.09 on March 15. The total number of operating rigs exploring for oil has declined by 61 since Jan. 4. The prices of oil and […]
Since hitting an eight-year low in December of just 1,893,568 tons, imports of steel into the United States have been up and down, according to Commerce Department data. Final January imports jumped to 3,478,865 net tons, up 83.7 percent over December—a nearly 1.6 million ton increase. Then in February, based on license data for the […]