Features
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Holiday notice: Memorial Day
Written by Brett Linton
May 23, 2024
Steel Market Update will be taking time off in observance of Memorial Day. We will not publish our Executive issue on Sunday, May 26.
Our offices will be closed on Monday, May 27. We will resume our regular publication schedule on Tuesday, May 28. Our weekly pricing service will not be impacted.
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Brett Linton
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US and Canadian rig counts log increases
Drilling activity rose in both the US and Canada last week, according to the latest data release from Baker Hughes. US rig activity increased to a six-week high but remains near multi-year lows. Canadian counts continue to improve, now at a 20-week high.
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Steel industry groups urge House action on LTPF 2.0
Six steel industry organizations have urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to include the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act in any proposed package of legislation against China’s "unfair" trade practices.
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CRU: Poor steel margins continue to push down raw material prices
Both iron ore and coking coal prices fell this week because of resistance from buyers. Iron ore prices have continued to fall throughout the past week, following sharp declines in steel prices in China, given no new policy announcement from the ‘Third Plenum’ meeting.
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Final thoughts
SMU has heard from some larger buyers who have stepped back into the market to buy at prices that, if not at a bottom, they assess to be close to one. Is it enough to stretch out lead times and send prices upward again? Or do we continue to scrape along the mid-$600s per short ton (st) as we have been doing for most of the last month?
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Steelmaking raw material prices ease in July
The majority of steelmaking raw material prices declined in June, following the same trend seen in May, according to SMU’s latest analysis.