Multiple risks continue to cloud the automotive outlook, including semiconductor shortages, tariff uncertainty, weaker demand, policy changes, geopolitical disruption, the war in Iran, supply-chain shocks, protectionism, cost pressures, and intensifying competition.
CRU: 62% Fe iron ore prices remained rangebound in April following the surge in the first half of March.
After another historic turnout in 2025, and on the heels of our best Tampa Steel Conference in February, the buzz around SMU’s Steel Summit 2026 is picking up.
Conditions in the US market remain tight as domestic demand is holding up with support from border wall projects and data center investments. The supply side has struggled to keep pace with weak import volumes, impacting the market.
Steel output will carry on in Iran despite repeated US-Israeli air strikes on key industrial sites, including the Mobarakeh and Khuzestan steel companies, according to a senior Iranian industry official.
The Middle East conflict continues to be the principal factor in rising prices, as its impact is now being felt throughout the supply chain. Coated sheet prices have borne the larger brunt of the impact. This is despite...
APAC steel prices are expected to rise due to high energy and freight costs stemming from the Middle East conflict. Imports will remain subdued in the EU due to rising freight rates but are expected to pick up marginally in the USA.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has led to higher and more volatile energy prices, and impacts on numerous other commodity markets – in particular fertilizers and aluminum. If disruption to Middle Eastern supply continues, this will have a serious negative impact on the global economy.
Chinese steel export prices and Turkish longs export prices increased this week due to higher energy and raw material costs. In India, HR coil exports remained paused amid the Middle East crisis.
This CRU insight demonstrates how the conflict in Middle East supports metallurgical coal prices and iron ore will be impacted by a potential decline in demand from China and rising costs, while the pellet market will be severely disrupted.
The main impact on the ferrous value chain from the Middle East conflict will be the higher energy costs in a prolonged scenario.
Crude-oil and natural-gas prices spiked, metals opened higher and some fertilizer benchmarks climbed after the US and Israel launched a “pre-emptive” strike on Iran, killing the supreme leader and plunging the region into chaos.
US hot-rolled coil prices are set to rise year on year in 2026, but the market will face heightened volatility as import flows recover and new domestic capacity comes online, CRU Research Principal Josh Spoores said at this year's Tampa Steel Conference.
A €1.3 bn ($1.55 bn) project to install a 2 Mt/y electric arc furnace at Dunkirk, northern France, will go ahead, ArcelorMittal confirmed during a site visit to the integrated steel works by French President Emmanuel Macron.
CRU: US Midwest sheet prices have continued to rise from our mid-January assessment.
US rebar and wire rod prices rose month on month (m/m) alongside continued scrap increases, while merchant bar and structurals were unchanged.
This news item was first published by CRU. To learn about CRU’s global commodities research and analysis services, visit www.crugroup.com. Canada’s Algoma Steel signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hanwha Ocean to support Canada’s submarine program and Algoma’s diversification strategy. A new structural steel beam mill may result. Financial support, subject to conditions being […]
Lower finished steel imports continued to support US domestic prices this month. HR coil prices are up more than $40 per metric ton (mt) month-on-month (m/m) due to higher seasonal demand in January and tightening domestic supply.
Sheet prices are set to stay weak in China, hold steady in India, while they are set to rise in the EU and US due to protectionist limits on imports.
This CRU Insight provides details on the decline of Venezuela’s steel, DRI, and iron ore industries, which highlights the potential scope of recovery with the right policy agenda and support.
US Midwest sheet prices continued to rise alongside continued mill prices increases as lead times remained extended.
US longs prices diverged in early December, with rebar and structurals prices rising on data center demand while wire rod remained flat, as domestic mills balanced the market. Import volumes, in November, declined sharply across all longs.
The downward trend in Chinese steel export prices continued over the past month, as domestic demand in the country failed to recover following the Golden Week holidays.
Global sheet markets face divergent trajectories into year-end, with Asian (excl. India) markets under pressure from oversupply. This, while Western markets experience temporary support from supply constraints.
US steel mills have received a boost from lower import levels because of sweeping tariffs this year. However, demand remained moderate in most sectors, aside from data center construction, after the summer.
CRU analysts break down their top takeaways from CRU's 31st Annual Ferroalloys Connections Summit, held Oct. 19-21 in Miami.
India's JSW Steel reported a 307% year-on-year (y/y) jump in net profit to INR16.5 bn ($188 million, €161 million) in fiscal Q2.
US domestic sheet prices have remained rangebound in recent weeks as supply tightness met weak demand. Demand for steel produced in the US increased among some Mexican industrial buyers....
SMU has successfully completed an external review of all our prices. The review has concluded that they algin with principles set by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
The boom in China’s direct steel exports has not stopped this year, even with a rise in protectionist measures globally. The increase is driven by...