Steel Products Prices North America
January 3, 2018
Raw Material Prices Increase in December
Written by Peter Wright
All four raw materials tracked by Steel Market Update— iron ore, scrap, coking coal and zinc—increased in price in December.
From Australia News Digest on Dec.18: “Steelmaking raw materials made strong gains on Monday as Chinese mills, responsible for half the world’s steel output, restock ahead of the resumption of full production at the end of winter.The Northern China import price of 62% Fe content ore jumped 5.2 percent to the highest since September, trading at $74.40 per dry metric ton, according to data supplied by The Steel Index. Although down sharply from its February 2017 high, iron ore has averaged $70.60 since the start of the year compared to $56.50 over the course of 2016. Steelmaking coal (premium hard-coking coal FOB Australia) was pegged at $243.90 per metric ton, up 1.4 percent compared to Friday, a near eight-month high. Coking coal has surged 37 percent in value since the beginning of November and is averaging $185.70 in 2017, a gain of more than $40 compared to the average price last year.”
