Steel Products Prices North America

CRU: Iron Ore Prices in Correction as Demand Stays Weak
Written by Tim Triplett
February 19, 2019
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg
During the past week, iron ore prices fell somewhat as weak Chinese demand continued to weigh on the market. On Tuesday, Feb. 19, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $86.60 /t, down $3.70 /t w/w.
Again, the Vale dam accident dominated the talks in the market. Although there have been no updates on further supply cuts, the Brazilian authorities have announced that upstream dams in Brazil will now have to be decommissioned by 2021. This is slightly earlier than Vale’s time plan and it will also force other miners in Brazil to take further action. On Friday, Vale also announced that there has been a fire at their blending terminal in Malaysia. The fire will stop transportation to and from the terminal for about 15 days and could have a slight impact on availability of BRBF. However, our sources suggest that this will not have a significant impact on the market as Australian supply is improving and there is still plenty of BRBF at ports in China.
In China, demand has been weak in the past seven days. We have observed attempts at stimulus measures in China, which have resulted in lower interest rates and higher equity prices, as indicated by our China steel index below. However, we expect the market to remain quiet until the National People’s Congress in early-March, for which the market is expecting more clarity on the government actions to tackle a weakening economy.
With weak demand side, we expect prices to continue to decline in the coming week. Australian supply has improved and there are currently no threats of cyclones in Northwestern Australia. Port stocks are high at the moment, which means any short-term rise in demand can by met by destocking at ports.
Explore this topic further with CRU.

Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Steel Products Prices North America

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.

Nucor carries $875/ton HR list price into week seven
Nucor is keeping hot-rolled (HR) coil prices unchanged again this week, according to its latest consumer spot price (CSP) notice issued on Monday, Oct. 6

SMU Price Ranges: A newsy week sees modest price gains despite a quiet spot market
Market participants predicted that prices should be at or near a bottom. But while most seemed to agree on that point, many also said they saw little upside given a quiet spot market and ongoing concerns about demand.

Nucor increases plate prices by $60/ton
Nucor aims to increase prices for steel plate by $60 per short ton with the opening of its November order book.