By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor CRU recently developed a bottom-up zinc demand model to improve our medium-term demand forecasts. The model calculates demand in key regions and countries for the six major first uses of refined zinc: galvanized sheet, general galvanizing, copper-zinc alloys, die casting alloys, zinc oxide […]
The average hot rolled steel price saw another small dip, based on Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week, but cold rolled and galvanized continued to rise, as the market reacts unevenly to changing conditions. On the supply side, sources report better availability of spot tons from the domestic mills at the same […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have continued to fall with the commodity now reaching $93.0/dmt, a $31.0/dmt fall in the past week. Chinese demand remains weak and seasonal improvements in construction activity have thus far not materialized in any significant improvement in market conditions for […]
Prices for four of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis decreased over the last 30 days. Through Sept. 17, iron ore prices stumbled 21% in one month’s time, busheling scrap prices declined 12%, pig iron prices fell 11%, and shredded scrap prices declined 3%. Coking coal prices jumped 49% in that […]
Domestic raw steel production edged down marginally in the week ending Sept. 18 after climbing to a new pandemic-era high the week prior. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), production by U.S. mills was estimated at 1,874,000 net tons while the average utilization rate was 84.9%. Mill utilization has fluctuated in recent weeks […]
Foreign steel imports continue to entice U.S. buyers with potential discounts of 17% to 42%, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. With domestic hot rolled averaging $1,950 per ton last week, foreign prices are theoretically $330 to $830 per ton cheaper than domestic prices after taking freight costs, trader […]
U.S. domestic steel demand remains strong, but supplies have been catching up and are largely in balance. These dynamics are starting to show as steel prices have seen a slower rate of rise and may be near a peak. Lead times are also contracting, with hot rolled now below nine weeks. These changes are largely a […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), scrap and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled Please fasten your seatbelts. Hot rolled futures are approaching some near-term turbulence. On the one hand, HR pricing is still […]
By CRU Senior Editor Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Steel sheet prices were either little changed or fell w/w across most of the globe, with the U.S. market now joining in the global cooldown. Prices in the U.S. fell w/w for the first time in over year, albeit the decline was only […]
By CRU Senior Economist Henry Hao and Principal Economist Alex Tuckett, from CRU’s Global Economics Outlook Since China rolled out the “three red lines” policies, China’s second-largest developer China Evergrande (EG) has grown to be the most indebted with more than RMB1.97 tn of liabilities. Market investors are concerned that Evergrande will collapse and default […]
Sheet prices continue to wobble with hot-rolled coiled prices actually declining, albeit modestly, for the first time in more than a year. The concern: that the market is at a peak – and perhaps heading down the other side. Hot rolled coil prices have been flat in prior weeks, but they have not declined since […]
July apparent steel supply increased 312,000 tons over June to 9.70 million net tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. This is now the highest supply level seen since January 2019, a 30-month record. July supply is up 2.73 million tons compared to the same month […]
Production by U.S. mills was 1,882,000 net tons while the average utilization rate was 85.3% in the week ending Sept. 11, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Weekly domestic raw steel production rebounded after slipping for two straight weeks, eclipsing the 85% mark for the first time since Sept.13, 2008. Weekly output […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Market fundamentals in the North American sheet market continue to evolve and clearly suggest that supply tightness is easing. From a broad point of view, these fundamentals include rising supply, service center inventories that are balanced with outbound shipments, and demand growth that […]
Prime scrap prices saw a big drop in September, down $40-50 per gross ton (GT), report Steel Market Update sources. Obsolete grades also declined, though not as much, at down $20-25/GT in most parts of the country. Declining scrap prices may contribute to downward pressure on finished steel prices in the fourth quarter. Prices for […]
By CRU Aluminum Advisor Greg Wittbecker Steel and aluminum are vigorous competitors, but share a common plight, supply chain woes. Just-in-time manufacturing, lean manufacturing, vendor-managed inventory…we all know the buzzwords that have shaped the way both the aluminum and steel supply chains have operated for several decades. Since the Global Financial Crisis, the primary aluminum market […]
By CRU Aluminum Advisor Greg Wittbecker China has been wrestling with inflationary tendencies in its aluminum market for some time: Spot Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) high aluminum is at $3,516 per ton; that compares to $2,139 a year ago and $1,849 five years ago. The Chinese State Reserve Board (SRB) is releasing part of its […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. David has over 20 years of trading experience in financial markets and has been active in the ferrous futures space for over eight years. You can learn more at www.thefeldstein.com or add him on twitter @TheFeldstein and on Instragram at #thefeldstein. Since Aug. […]
U.S. steel exports declined 3% in July to 756,000 tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce data. Although down from the month prior, July levels remain relatively strong compared to recent months. Recall that June saw the second highest monthly export level in the last three years (778,000 tons), just behind the April 2021 high of 790,000 […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Regional sheet markets have continued to exhibit divergent trends for not only prices, but also production and demand. The lone continent where sheet prices have yet to fall from a peak is North America. All other markets now have prices below their recent […]
Weekly domestic raw steel production slipped for the second straight week. Production by U.S. mills was 1,866,000 net tons while the average utilization rate was 84.5% in the week ending Sept. 4, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Weekly output dipped by 0.4% compared to the week prior when production was 1,873,000 […]
Market momentum suggests that flat rolled steel prices are likely to continue moving up, at least in the short term, as hot rolled hit a new record high once again this week at an average of $1,955 per ton, up $20 over last week, according to SMU’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday. […]
Final Census data shows that total foreign steel imports increased 5% from June to July, reaching 3.08 million tons. As stated in our preliminary import analysis, this is now the highest monthly import level of 2021, surpassing the previous month. The last time monthly import levels exceeded this rate was January 2020 when 3.16 million tons […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Richard Lu, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor In a recent Insight titled “Iron ore at $140 /dmt – what’s driving the fall?”, we explained that weak demand in China has caused a sharp iron ore price fall and we expect the downtrend to persist for the rest of the year. […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) fell by 4.6% in September to 375.5, marking a second straight month of decline. Scrap prices were down in nearly every market we cover, although pig iron and HBI prices again fell by more than scrap. Lower demand […]
Prices for four of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis decreased over the last 30 days. Through Sept. 1st, iron ore prices stumbled 18% in one month’s time, pig iron prices fell 11%, shredded scrap prices declined 4%, and zinc prices decreased 2%. Busheling scrap prices remained flat month over month, while aluminum prices rose […]
As domestic hot rolled steel prices surpass $1,900 per ton, foreign steel imports continue to tempt U.S. buyers, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. While domestic prices rise week after week, foreign prices have remained steady or declined, holding potential discounts of 16% to 44% after taking freight […]
Flat-rolled steel prices are again mixed. Hot rolled is up $20 per ton, cold rolled is unchanged, and coated products are down $20-25 per ton. (Plate – following mill price hike announcements – is up a sharp $105 per ton.) The mixed signals are not a sure sign of the market inflecting. And Hurricane Ida […]
Weekly domestic raw steel production slipped last week after climbing the week prior. Output varied slightly throughout the month of August. Production by U.S. mills was 1,873,000 net tons while the average utilization rate was 84.9% in the week ending Aug. 28, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Weekly output dipped by […]
Preliminary Census data shows that total foreign steel imports increased 3% from June to July, reaching 3.01 million tons. This is now the highest monthly import level of 2021, surpassing the previous month. The last time monthly import levels exceeded this rate was January 2020 when 3.16 million tons of steel entered the country. August import licenses are currently […]