Support for the Trump administration tariffs on Chinese imports extends across party lines to a majority of voters, according to a recent survey sponsored by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a non-partisan partnership between American manufacturers and the United Steelworkers. The poll of 1,200 likely voters in the November election showed that 63 percent support […]
The following Trade Policy & Economic Briefing was authored by CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison Since March 2018, there has been a broad strengthening of the U.S. dollar. This has developed because of rising U.S. interest rates and strong U.S. economic growth, which is in relative contrast to continued, historically low Eurozone interest rates […]
In the last month, eight of the 16 currencies that Steel Market Update tracks were down against the dollar and eight were up. This was a dramatic change from the May-August period when few of the 16 appreciated against the dollar (just one in May, two in June, three in July and two in August). […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Steel The HR spot market has continued to decline, however we have a bit of a divergence as the HR futures curve prices […]
Global economic expansion may have reached its peak as trade tensions pressure markets, says a new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD is projecting global GDP growth will settle at 3.7 percent in 2018 in its Interim Economic Outlook. “Amidst rising trade tensions and heightened trade policy uncertainty, global trade growth […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index slid seven points in September from its 10-month high in August. The general business conditions index showed a slower pace of growth with a reading of 19.0 for the month, below economists’ expectations of 23. New orders and shipments continued to expand but at a softer rate, falling 0.6 points […]
This article is regularly published for our Premium users, but we decided to share it with our entire readership this month. If you are interested in upgrading to a Premium subscription, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475. Carbon steel tubular products have a rate of price escalation much higher than plastic products. This is also […]
The U.S. economy created 201,000 net jobs in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, up from 147,000 in July, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. This is the last employment report before the next FOMC meeting on Sept. 26 when the Feds are expected to raise interest rates for the third time this […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
U.S. steel mills shipped 7,911,228 net tons in July, a 5.8 percent increase from the 7,480,241 net tons shipped in July 2017, but a 1.0 percent decrease from shipments in the previous month, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. Shipments year-to-date in 2018 totaled 55,215,285 net tons, a 4.3 percent increase vs. […]
The Commerce Department has developed a new tool that makes it easier to track steel trade flows. The Global Steel Trade Monitor, available here, provides extensive and timely steel trade data for the top 20 global steel importing countries and top 20 global steel exporting countries. “Timely detailed data in user-friendly formats are essential both […]
Gaurav Chhibbar is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this new role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategy for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Gaurav’s previous role, he was a Trader at Cargill spending time in Metal […]
Editor’s note: Normally a Premium offering, we are sharing this article with our Executive members. For more information about Premium-level membership, click here. Steel mill shipments are up while the shipment-to-inventory ratio is down, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Census Bureau data. This is an alternative data source for steel product shipments […]
Global steel production in July hit an annual rate of 1.855 billion metric tons. Capacity is calculated to be 2.38 billion metric tons; therefore, capacity utilization was 78 percent, according to the latest Steel Market Update analysis of World Steel Association data. In three months through July, Chinese production grew by 10.5 percent year over […]
Global steel production in August achieved an annual rate of 1.821 billion metric tons. Capacity is calculated to be 2.4 billion metric tons; therefore, capacity utilization was 76 percent, according to the latest Steel Market Update analysis of World Steel Association data. In three months through August, China’s steel production grew by 9.0 percent year […]
Consumer confidence increased strongly in August and the three-month moving average (3MMA) had the largest monthly increase since October last year, according to The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Survey. The composite value of consumer confidence in August was 133.4, up from 127.9 in July. The 3MMA increased from 127.9 in July to 129.5 in August, […]
Consumer confidence surged again in September to its highest level since September 2000, according to The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Survey. The composite value of consumer confidence in September was 138.4, up from 134.7 in August. The three-month moving average (3MMA) increased from 129.9 in August to 133.6 in September, which was 13.3 points higher […]
Economic indicators of manufacturing activity continue to look favorable for the rest of 2018. This report summarizes nine data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the United States. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market Update publications, and therefore will be brief in this summary. We don’t expect […]
August saw our SMU Price Momentum Indicator move from Neutral to Lower indicating our expectation that we will see prices drop over the next 30-60 days. The last couple of weeks of August and into early September has seen prices dropping and the trend does not appear ready to abate quite yet. Our Sentiment Index […]
The ISM Manufacturing Index reached a 14 year high as new orders, production and employment made strong gains in August. The Index issued by the Institute for Supply Management, jumped 3.2 points to a reading of 61.3, far exceeding the consensus for a posting of 57.6. New orders increased 4.9 points to 65.1, production 4.8 […]
Global manufacturing was subdued in August said J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI was at a 21 month low of 52.5 in August, down 0.3 points from July. “August PMI data signaled a slight firming in global manufacturing output growth to a solid pace at near three percent annualized,” said […]
The August Chicago Business Barometer recorded its first decrease in five months for a three-month low of 63.6 in August. The index was down 1.9 points from July’s reading of 65.5, according to MNI Indicators and the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago. Output and orders inched up slightly last month giving some firms breathing room to […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Steel Due to the Monday UK bank holiday and the Atlanta SMU Steel Summit Conference this week, we had a slow start to […]
U.S. gross domestic product grew in every region of the country in the last quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data. The BEA introduced a new data set for GDP by state and region in 2014 and backdated it to Q1 2005. This week, the data […]
Flack Global Metals announced the appointment of David Feldstein to Chief Market Risk Officer. Feldstein will bring more than 15 years of extensive knowledge of commodity markets along with a history of customized and profitable financial structuring to assist customers and the FGM team in presenting, training, quoting and executing a wide range of fixed price […]
Durable goods orders fell more than expected in July, dipping 1.7 percent, according to data from the Commerce Department. The decrease was primarily due to a 34 percent plunge in commercial aircraft orders. Excluding transportation, durable goods orders were up 0.2 percent. Core capital goods, orders minus defense and aircraft, gained 1.4 percent last month […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
Chinese steel trade data was recently released for the month of July 2018, providing updated data on iron ore imports, scrap imports and flat rolled imports and exports. Chinese imports of iron ore in July totaled 89,960,000 metric tons, an increase of 8.1 percent from the previous month, and an increase of 4.3 percent from […]
Metalforming companies are struggling with higher steel prices and longer lead times as a result of Section 232 tariffs, but are still expecting business conditions to improve during the next three months. The Precision Metalforming Association’s August Business Conditions Report showed 29 percent of participants expect an increase in economic activity, 62 percent expect no […]
Architecture billings growth slowed in July, according to the American Institute of Architects. The AIA Architecture Billings Index slipped to 50.7 from 51.3 in June. A score over 50 indicates billing growth, but on a regional basis only the South registered growing demand with an index reading of 55.2. Regional averages in the remainder of […]