Steel Products

MetalMiner Rejoins Commodities Panel
Written by Tim Triplett
August 2, 2017
Bringing a different perspective to SMU’s Steel Summit Conference later this month will be Lisa Reisman, who will touch on the related topics of copper, zinc and aluminum. Reisman, co-founder and executive editor of MetalMiner, will make her third appearance as a speaker at SMU’s conference at 10:35 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29, as part of the commodities panel.
Previewing her remarks at the conference, Reisman says MetalMiner has changed its outlook on zinc. “Although industrial metals as an asset class remain bullish, MetalMiner has shifted its long-term commodity outlook to bearish. Zinc prices, though they reached a three-month high in July, have not breached MetalMiner key resistance levels. Moreover, trading volumes do not appear to support buying sentiment (and therefore upward price momentum).”
MetalMiner sees some indicators that suggest aluminum may be forming a “price top” and may struggle to continue moving higher. Prices moved a bit sideways in July, despite some strong price moves for other base metals, Reisman notes.
Copper is poised for a correction, she predicts. “Despite the big increases in copper prices during the final days of July, MetalMiner sees a copper price correction in August or September. Buying organizations had a good opportunity to buy long-term forward in May. They can take a wait-and-see approach until the trend is clarified.”

Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Steel Products

Asian HR remains much cheaper than US, EU product
Domestic hot-rolled (HR) coil prices were flat this week after declining seven of the last nine weeks. Offshore prices have also eroded in recent weeks, though not nearly as significantly as in the US.

Galv buyers less optimistic about short-term market
“It was a little more of a seller's market as contractors seemed to be protecting themselves against a potential run up in prices," one buyer said.

SMU flat-rolled market survey results now available
SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]

US, offshore CRC prices continue to fall
US cold-rolled (CR) coil prices were down again this week, slipping six weeks in a row and seeing the sharpest drop-off since last July.

Asian HR remains much cheaper than US, EU product
Domestic hot-rolled (HR) coil prices fell this week, now down seven of the last eight weeks.