Raw Materials Prices: Iron Ore, Coking Coal, Pig Iron, Scrap, Zinc

Among steelmaking raw materials, the prices of iron ore, pig iron and scrap saw large gains in January compared to months prior, up as much as 86 percent year over year. Coking coal prices, which rebounded compared to recent months, were still down 9 percent in January versus prices one year ago. Zinc prices have declined from the high levels seen one month ago, but remain strong compared to the second half of 2019 and most of 2020. Aluminum prices have been hovering around $0.90 per pound since late-November 2020, some of the highest prices seen in recent years.

Table 1 summarizes the price changes of the seven materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, three months/three months and year/year changes as a percentage.