Category: Market

January got off to a tentative start as steel prices continued to decline, leaving buyers with a cautious perspective on the months ahead. Steel Market Update’s Buyers Sentiment Index shows buyers slightly less optimistic than they were in November. Sentiment factors into buyers’ decision-making about such factors as purchasing, inventory levels, capital investment and hiring. […] The post January at a Glance: Year Off to a Tenative Start appeared first on Steel Market Update.

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 futures curve has both flattened and risen versus physical spot HR since its lows on Jan. 7. Optimism is […] The post HRC Futures: Markets Retrace Some of Their Recent Price Declines appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Steel Market Update sources disagree on whether ferrous scrap prices will see a small decline or move sideways in February. But the market remains unusual for this time of year when scrap prices normally increase as the mills restock ahead of new-year steel demand. Scrap prices surprised the market with a $30-40 per ton decrease […] The post Ferrous Scrap Prices: Sideways in February? appeared first on Steel Market Update.

There has been a downward reversal in raw materials prices in the last month. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through January of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, 3 months/3 months and 12 months/12 months changes and tells us that price movements have been negative for all materials except […] The post Raw Material Prices: Iron Ore, Coking Coal, Pig Iron, Scrap and Zinc appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Steel Dynamics is excited about its recently announced plans for a new steel mill in the Southwest. After an outstanding year, breaking records for shipments, sales, net income and cash flow, CEO Mark Millett is looking forward to filling a steel void in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. Steel Dynamics hopes to announce a site […] The post Steel Dynamics Posts Record Year appeared first on Steel Market Update.

By Stephen Miller Pig iron prices have declined by about $35/MT for sales concluded last week for delivery to the U.S. The latest sales are in the vicinity of $350/MT CFR. This has been a long time coming since the last confirmed cargoes were booked at $385/MT in November. Prior to November, many market participants thought […] The post Pig Iron Prices: ‘Nowhere to Go But Down’ appeared first on Steel Market Update.

If the prevailing view in the market proves correct, steel mills will announce a price increase soon—but it won’t stick. Two out of three steel executives responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this past week believe the mills will announce an increase in flat rolled prices by the end of January. But given […] The post Steel Market Trends: Price Hike Coming? appeared first on Steel Market Update.

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 Since the beginning of the year, the forward curve in CME HR futures has shifted down roughly $25/ST on average for […] The post HRC Futures: CME Steel Futures Comments appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Perhaps it’s because the year started out with so much promise that the end of 2018 seemed so uninspiring. On balance, most in the steel business would call 2018 a good year, some even a great year. But few look forward to 2019 with the same optimism and confidence they felt a year ago at […] The post 2018 Year in Review; What Does It Mean for 2019? appeared first on Steel Market Update.

The year ended on a cautionary note with steel demand, prices and buyers’ sentiment showing downward momentum in December. Prices for flat rolled products continued their fourth-quarter declines with hot rolled dipping to $754, cold rolled to $865 and galvanized to $931 in December. Plate is the notable exception, holding steady around $1,000 per ton, […] The post December at a Glance: Downward Momentum appeared first on Steel Market Update.