By Chris Houlden, CRU Research Manager CRU held its annual Steel Briefing in New York City on June 17. This Insight summarizes the key takeaways from papers presented by CRU North America market specialists Josh Spoores and Ryan McKinley. • Up to 20 Mt of new hot-rolling and over 8 Mt of steelmaking capacity could come […]
The construction segment of the market is booming. This is what we heard from the HARDI steel conference call we participated in last week, and it is what we heard from many companies over the two days SMU was in New York City earlier this week. Whenever we travel, one of the things we always […]
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 Principal Analyst Chris Asgill Scrap supply has continued to outpace demand in most of the key scrap supply markets and CRU’s metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) has fallen a further 4.2 percent m/m to 231.2 (see chart). This is the lowest level for the indicator since June 2017. The depth of U.S. scrap price weakness surprised the […]
Key Market Indicator trends deteriorated in May and were the worst since October 2016, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data we have reported in detail during the month. In it we summarize 36 data streams that critically describe the state of the steel […]
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 […]
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 […]
U.S. Steel Mon Valley is not producing pig iron due to an accident at their #1 Blast Furnace and the reline of the remaining furnace. According to U.S. Steel spokeswoman Meghan Cox, there was an issue with the top charging equipment in Blast Furnace #1 at the Edgar Thomson Plant. Sources told SMU that a […]
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 […]
Editor’s note: The following comments on where ferrous scrap settled for April come from one of SMU’s sources: U.S. scrap market prices gave way to a lull in export demand, mill outages and a perceived increased flow of obsolescent scrap due to the onset of spring weather. It ignored the flooding, which has inhibited the flow […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Steel In the last month, the CME U.S. Midwest HR future front month price has declined over $40/ST. Latest indexes indicate spot […]
Ferrous scrap settled up $20 per ton in March, but demand is softening and supplies are building, leading to predictions of April scrap prices that move sideways or decrease by $5 to $10 per ton. Outages at five mills in late March and early April will dampen scrap demand, said CRU North America Analyst Ryan […]
Finished steel price momentum has been particularly difficult to gauge of late and what happens to ferrous scrap prices next month may be telling. Scrap for May appears to be under pressure. Despite relatively healthy U.S. steel demand and domestic mills cranking out flat rolled steel at nearly full capacity, scrap prices have seen declines […]
Finished steel price momentum has been particularly difficult to gauge of late and what happens to ferrous scrap prices next month may be telling. Scrap for May appears to be under pressure. Despite relatively healthy U.S. steel demand and domestic mills cranking out flat rolled steel at nearly full capacity, scrap prices have seen declines […]
Ferrous scrap prices are poised to drop substantially in May, anywhere from $20 to $50 per gross ton, predict Steel Market Update sources, adding to the downward price momentum on finished steel. Scrap prices moved down or sideways in three of the first four months of the year. CRU North America steel analyst Ryan McKinley […]
Ferrous scrap prices for June are difficult to predict, report Steel Market Update sources, who disagree on the degree to which the lower tariffs on Turkish steel will affect demand for scrap exports from the U.S. Most expect scrap prices to settle sideways next month after declines for most of the year, but a small […]
Ferrous scrap prices for June have settled down another $30/GT, surprising a market that was expecting little or no decline this month and adding further pressure to already weak finished steel prices. Scrap prices have been on a downward trajectory since January. The drop in scrap prices this month was caused by low mill demand […]
Ferrous scrap prices for June have settled down another $30/GT, surprising a market that was expecting little or no decline this month and adding further pressure to already weak finished steel prices. Scrap prices have been on a downward trajectory since January. The drop in scrap prices this month was caused by low mill demand […]
Steel market conditions and steel prices could be good for the next 18-24 months, but after that comes an unavoidable downturn that metals and mining analyst Timna Tanners has dubbed “Steelmageddon.” In fact, her company, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, has trademarked the term. Speaking at the S&P Global Platts North America Steel Conference March […]
Ferrous scrap prices for March settled up $20/GT, report Steel Market Update sources. “The ferrous market was up $20 across the board without much deviation across the country. That puts Midwest shred at around $355-360 and busheling at $370-380. Export has rebounded this week by about $5-10 from recent sales. The most recent sale to Turkey […]
Key market indicators were strong in February, but trends have been deteriorating for a year. This report summarizes 36 data streams that we believe critically describe the state of and provide forward guidance for the steel market. The government statistics departments are gradually catching up after the shutdown, but their revised schedules indicate that it […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive-level subscribers in this issue. For more information on upgrading to a Premium-level membership, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com Key market indicators were strong in March and the trends have improved since January. This report is designed to provide a big picture summary of data we have covered in […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive-level subscribers in this issue. For more information on upgrading to a Premium-level membership, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com Steel Market Update’s analysis of Key Market Indicators shows that U.S. economic trends deteriorated in April to the worst level in 27 months. This report is designed to be a […]
Ferrous scrap prices are expected to settle around $20/GT higher for March following weakness in January and February, report Steel Market Update sources. “The March domestic market seems to have $20/GT baked into it,” commented one dealer in the Northeast. “Poor inflows due to bad weather and seasonality, along with a stronger export market, are […]
In the last month, there has been a positive turnaround of raw materials prices. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through February of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, 3 month/3 month and 12 month/12 month changes and tells us that price movements with the exception of busheling have been […]
By CRU Latin America Analyst Thais Terzian On Jan. 25, one of Vale’s tailing dams located in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, breached. The dam was part of Vale’s Córrego do Feijão mine and its breach tragically caused the death of several hundred people. On Jan. 29, Vale announced the suspension of production at nine mines in its […]
Ferrous scrap for February is settling at sideways prices for obsolete grades and down about $20 per ton for prime grades, report Steel Market Update sources. This latest dip follows on a $30-40 per ton decrease in January, largely attributed to weak demand from overseas. “A rising export market, which curtailed East Coast suppliers from […]
Key Market Indicators in January, indicators of the present situation, remained strong, but trends deteriorated to the weakest level in two years. This report summarizes 36 data streams that we believe critically describe the state of and provide forward guidance for the steel market. Due to the government shutdown, 13 of the 36 indicators were […]
There has been a downward reversal in raw materials prices in the last month. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through January 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 price movements have been negative for all materials except […]
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 Metal and […]