Steel Products Prices North America

Essar Steel Minnesota Given “Final Offer” for Repayment of Loans
Written by Sandy Williams
December 28, 2015
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton gave Essar Steel Minnesota a week to agree to a terms of proposal to repay $66 million in loans.
Essar received the loans in 2004 in return for promises to build a $1.9 billion iron ore processing plant and steel mill in Nashwauk, Minn. The taconite plant is still under construction and the steel mill plan has been scrapped.
The new “final offer” from the state would require Essar Steel Minnesota to begin loan payments with $3.54 million due by Feb. 7, 2016 and $6.6 million by March 31. The balance of $55.9 million would be spread over 16 quarterly payments beginning March 31. In the event of a sale of the company, all debts would be due.
Essar says it is reviewing the proposal and “continuing to work diligently in its efforts to keep payments flowing to local contractors and vendors.” Essar owes more than $18 million to vendors for work already completed on the taconite plant that is expected to be completed in late 2016.
Essar Minnesota President Madhu Vuppuluri said the matter of repayment to the state “will be resolved soon, very soon.”

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Products Prices North America

Thin demand keeps plate prices hovering at lowest levels since February
Participants in the domestic plate market say spot prices appear to have hit the floor, and they continue to linger there. They say demand for steel remains thin, with plate products no exception.

SMU Price Ranges: HR crawls back to $800/ton
SMU’s HR price stands at $800/st on average, up $5/st from last week. The modest gain came as the low end of our range firmed, and despite the high end of our range declining slightly.

SMU successfully completes IOSCO review
SMU has successfully completed an external review of all our prices. The review has concluded that they algin with principles set by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

Domestic plate prices could heat up despite so-so demand, market sources say
Some sources also speculated that plate could see further price increases thanks to modest but steady demand, lower imports, mill maintenance outages, and end markets less immediately affected by tariff-related disruptions.

SMU Price Ranges: HR holds, galv slips amid competing market narratives
SMU’s sheet and plate prices see-sawed this week as hot-rolled (HR) coil prices held their ground while prices for galvanized product slipped.