By CRU Senior Analyst Paul Wiggers de Vries Lessons learned from the mining boom saw zinc miners cut back site costs over 2015, 2016 and 2017 in the face of lower zinc prices. However, in 2018, cost controls were relaxed and cost inflation returned. In 2019, cost inflation will remain, but miners will reduce site […]
As I write my “final thoughts” for Tuesday evening’s issue of Steel Market Update, I am in Stuart, Fla., and there is a hurricane located about 80 miles due east in the Bahamas. It is Monday and I expect there will be limited power or mobility come Tuesday, so I am trying to be a […]
For the 1,078 individuals who attended our conference on Monday through Wednesday of this week—first, we thank you for your business, your support, your kind words and for carrying the message back to your respective companies. We had a great conference. There can always be improvements. We constantly strive for perfection, so look for an […]
Steel demand will continue to weaken into 2020, but will bottom next year and set the stage for an inventory rebuild and rising consumption beginning in the second half, predicted CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores in his remarks Monday during Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit in Atlanta. U.S. industrial production is currently growing at just […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Manjot Singh China has been at the center of coal price upcycles that have taken place this millennium. The commodity supercycle that characterized the early-2000s was fueled by demand growth, especially in emerging markets like China. That bull market reached a peak in 2011 when slowing demand growth was met with […]
The price of iron ore corrected in August with a $32 per dry metric ton decline, while the four-month-long decline in the price of scrap reversed slightly. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through Aug. 21 of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month / month, 3 months / 3 months […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Manjot Singh Coking coal prices have remained steady for another week on the back of mixed signals on the demand side and abundant supply from Australia. On Aug. 27, CRU assessed the Premium HCC, $0.5 /t lower w/w at $154.5 /t, FOB Australia. There were more deals concluded by Chinese buyers […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore continued to fall in the past week as weakness in the Chinese steel market continued with steel prices declining further. Iron ore spot offers also rose over the last week. On Tuesday, Aug. 27, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $84.00 /t, a $4.30 […]
The steel industry enjoyed a profitable first half of 2018 due to a strong economy and tariffs on imports that drove up domestic prices. The welcome windfall prompted several companies to commit large investments toward expansion and modernization of their facilities. In all, about 31 million net tons of new steel capacity could potentially come […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison and Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg In the past month, we have seen sharp declines in global commodity prices, including steelmaking raw materials. The fall was triggered by an escalation of the U.S.-China trade war, but CRU’s research shows that supply and demand fundamentals in the markets also contributed to […]
Temperatures in Atlanta were in the high 70’s today under cloudy skies. The forecast for the next few days is for temperatures to be in the low 80’s on Monday and then climbing to the high 80’s by Wednesday. There is a chance of showers/thunderstorms on Monday and Tuesday, but they should be gone come […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel prices (delivered to U.S. ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other costs […]
The following article discussing the global ferrous derivatives markets was written by David Feldstein. As an independent steel market analyst, advisor and trader, we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Note that Steel Market Update does not take any positions on HRC or scrap trading, and any recommendations or comments […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores and CRU North America Analyst Ryan McKinley North America, primarily the U.S., was an outlier to global price trends for scrap and sheet products this month. Multiple mill price increases for sheet have been primarily successful, although current prices remain well below the most recent mill targets of $630 […]
I have been traveling all day, so I have had limited exposure to the market today. For that matter, as I have mentioned on a couple of recent occasions, I have been almost entirely focused on the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference. So, here are a few comments about the conference for those of you […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore prices continued to decline in the past week as margins in the Chinese steel industry continued to decline on weak steel demand and high production levels. On Tuesday, Aug. 20, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $88.30 /t, a $2.00 /t decline w/w. The […]
By CRU Analyst Iris Speelmanns Last week, Turkish scrap prices slid further, dropping by $9 /t w/w to $281 /t CFR for HMS 80:20, based on one 40 kt deal from Europe. This new price level is the lowest level since the brief drop in mid-June and before that the distinct, though brief, weakness last winter. Weaker global […]
Six days to go… Today, I had a long conversation with Ryan Smith who is the Global Costing Analyst for CRU. Ryan is based out of Australia and will be joining us in Atlanta next week when he will speak about the advantages and disadvantages the domestic steel industry has, and domestic steel buyers need […]
By CRU Analyst Alexander Ordosch Last week, Turkish scrap prices declined slightly by $4 /t w/w to $290 /t CFR for HMS 80:20, based on one 40 kt deal from the U.S. The Turkish market remains quiet because of the Eid al-Adha (Festival of the Sacrifice) holidays this past week. We consider this new price level of around $285-290 /t […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores U.S. Steel recently announced its intent to withdraw from spot market-linked adjustable price contracts in 2020 (i.e. contracts where the price moves with the spot market in some way). The following offers insight on the use of such contracts and what may come about if the intended change is […]
Written by: John Packard, President & CEO, Steel Market Update Seven days to go… Seven days before the beginning of the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta. I have spoken to almost every single speaker, interfaced with the CRU Events team in London as well as our SMU team. All is going as planned. […]
By Chris Houlden, CRU Research Manager For the last 40 years, CRU has provided its U.S. Midwest HR coil (HRC) price, or The CRU as it is sometimes called, to the market. We have done this with the sole focus of faithfully reflecting the spot market and with the clear understanding that the market would […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary Zinc’s price has been testing long-term support in the low $2,220s in recent days and has come under pressure on both the LME and ShFE. Zinc’s price on the LME hit a year-to-date low of $2,248.5/t on Aug. 12 and has lost 24 percent of its value since the […]
As with any mill announcement, be it price, changes in production or in the case of the U.S. Steel’s announcement about how they are going to handle contracts going forward, there are always mixed opinions from steel buyers and from the other steel mills. This afternoon, Steel Market Update, as an index provider, spent a […]
As with any mill announcement, be it price, changes in production or in the case of the U.S. Steel’s announcement about how they are going to handle contracts going forward, there are always mixed opinions from steel buyers and from the other steel mills. This afternoon, Steel Market Update, as an index provider, spent a […]
Nearly 1,000 executives are registered with just two weeks to go before the start of the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We continue to see strong interest in this year’s event, which will be held in Atlanta on Aug. 26-28. Once again, the Georgia International Convention Center will be the home of this, our 9th […]
I sold steel for 31 years. The last 10, I represented a domestic steel mill and a couple of trading companies. One thing I learned, the steel buyers determine the market, not steel mills. We had been hearing rumors of the move U.S. Steel made today regarding moving toward no-index contracts for their 2020 order […]
The mills may have the momentum today, but three out of four buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week expect that pricing push to be short-lived. About 73 percent said they expect steel prices to drop in the fourth quarter. Another 11 percent said they are not paying higher spot prices […]
For the past three days, I have been studying the nominations of 21 young individuals who were nominated by their companies for the 2019 SMU NexGen Leadership Award, which this year is being sponsored by the Steel Manufacturers Association. The process has been exhilarating to say the least. I decided many years ago that as […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel prices (delivered to U.S. ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other costs […]