Steel Products
NW Australian Storm Shuts Ports – Affects Iron Ore Trade
Written by Sandy Williams
January 23, 2013
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 Iron. The Bureau of Meteorology is warning that the storm may develop into a Category 3 cyclone on Wednesday with wind gusts to 62 miles per hour between Port Hedland and Dampier.
The a region of northwest containing the majority of Australia’s iron ore mining companies, is in the “cyclone alley” which produces seven or more cyclones per year. Fear of weather related reduced iron ore supply from Australia has contributed to fluctuations in iron ore prices.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Products
Steel caucus pushes US trade officials to maintain strong S232 program
The bipartisan Congressional Steel Caucus is pushing for US officials to maintain a robust Section 232 program as they negotiate trade deals with America's trading partners.
Active rig count declines in US, Canada
Oil and gas drilling activity slowed in the US and Canada this past week. An unfamiliar trend after both regions saw repeated gains of late.
Plate market buzzes with rumors of secret deals from mills
Carbon steel plate market participants suspect that this week’s modestly softer prices are the result of quietly negotiated prices between plate purchasers and mills.
HR Futures: Forward curve shifts lower, structure maintains
Scraping lower-quartile $800s on nearby futures is bringing limited trading ideas for CME hot-rolled coil (HRC) at present.
Nucor drops HR spot price to $865/ton
Nucor has lowered its hot-rolled (HR) spot price by another $10 per short ton (st) this week.