Tag: SMU

By CRU Principal Analyst Chris Asgill The pervasiveness of steel market weakness came to the fore this month, particularly for steel long products, leading to a sharp drop in scrap prices in almost every market we assess. Consequently, the CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) dropped by 8.3 percent m/m to 209.4 (see chart), the lowest level since November […] The post CRU: Scrap Prices Collapse Amid Weak Steel Markets appeared first on Steel Market Update.

“If you want to be successful in this business you need to understand the market you serve,” said Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves at the Credit Suisse Basic Materials Conference on Tuesday. Goncalves appears to know what he is doing, having transformed Cleveland-Cliffs from a failing enterprise into a solid business with a unique market position. […] The post Cleveland-Cliffs CEO: “We See a Huge Opportunity” appeared first on Steel Market Update.

John Packard is on vacation… Have the mills lost their pricing momentum on flat rolled? It sure looks that way, based on the latest Steel Market Update data. About 38 percent of the OEM and service center executives responding to SMU’s market trends questionnaire this week report that the mills have lost their momentum and […] The post Final Thoughts appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Following on a small $20 increase in August, ferrous scrap prices for September are down $30 to $40 per ton as U.S. mills adjusted to lower demand and planned for upcoming fall shutdowns. “Prices fell this month amid a confluence of factors including ample supply, a weakening export market and mill outages,” reported CRU North […] The post Ferrous Scrap Drops $30-40 Per Ton in September 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 In the last 30 days we have seen the prices in the HR forward curve drop by an average of $70/ST […] The post Hot Rolled Futures & BUS Futures Continue Their Descent appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Despite slight upward momentum in steel pricing in August, steel buyers’ sentiment languished in the +40s on SMU’s index. This tepid optimism likely reflects widespread concerns in the market about steel demand in the second half and the staying power of steel prices following the recent increases announced by the mills. The average price for […] The post August at a Glance appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Ferrous scrap prices are starting to settle as of today. Initial checks with some of our scrap sources found prime grades down $40 and obsolete grades down $30 in portions of the Midwest. We learned the Cleveland area mills bought busheling down $20 to $300/gross ton. We also learned of a purchase of HMS at […] The post Final Thoughts appeared first on Steel Market Update.

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 […] The post Raw Materials Prices: Iron Ore, Coking Coal, Pig Iron, Scrap, Zinc appeared first on Steel Market Update.

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 […] The post CRU: Turkish Scrap Prices Fall appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Steel Market Update sources report that ferrous scrap prices have turned around after repeated declines in the first half of the year and are settling up $20/GT for August, lending support to recent price increases on finished steel. “Demand is about the same for August as it was in July, there is just a little […] The post Ferrous Scrap Prices Up $20 in August appeared first on Steel Market Update.