Scrap price falls have continued, now affecting all major markets. Previously, the market weakness was due to macroeconomic concerns but is now due to weak steel demand. Turkish scrap buying has been underwhelming, while Chinese scrap consumption has been reeling back as the steel outlook turns sour. Poor Steel Demand and Production Weigh on Scrap […]
Weather events significantly disrupted commodity markets in 2022, fueling already significant price volatility. La Niña has ended in Australia, but other weather events and permanent climate change continue to impact global commodity supply chains. Weather – A Significant Disruptor in 2022 Heightened seasonal weather and extreme weather events disrupted multiple commodity markets in 2022. Heavy […]
Canada-based miner Teck Resources withdrew a plan to split into two, hours before shareholders were due to vote on the proposal. But the company insists separation is still the best way to maximize value and it remains opposed to the $22.5-billion unsolicited takeover bid from Glencore. Teck also released its Q1 financial results, which showed a decline on […]
Directors of Canadian miner Teck Resources have unanimously turned down what it described as an “opportunistic acquisition proposal” from Glencore. The offer values the Canadian miner at around US$23 billion (€21 bn). Glencore made the move soon after Teck announced first copper production from the QB2 expansion at Quebrada Blanca, Chile. Teck’s CEO Jonathan Price […]
Canadian miner Teck Resources plans to divide into base metals-focused Teck Metals and metallurgical coal miner Elk Valley Resources (EVR). “This transformative transaction creates two strong, sustainable, world-class mining companies committed to responsibly providing essential resources the world needs,” said CEO Jonathan Price. “Both Teck Metals and EVR have high-quality operating assets and strong financial […]
At the start of each year, CRU continues to feature top expectations and outliers for the year ahead. This annual list of expectations is a thought piece, meant to stimulate internal discussions, scenario analysis, and strategic planning around potential risks to the markets we cover. This 2023 edition covers six expectations and three potential outliers. […]
By CRU Research Analyst James Mills, from CRU’s Multi-Commodity Monthly Report The upside risk to commodity prices created by the war in Ukraine diminished in June as markets assessed the impact of a slower global demand growth outlook, higher inflation expectations, and a continuation of Covid-19 lockdowns in China. Bearish Economic Forecasts Are Downside Risk […]
Because of their large amount of carbon emissions, blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) steelmaking and the raw materials used in the steelmaking process are extremely vulnerable to long-term climate risks in the transition to a low-carbon economy, according to Fitch Ratings. Fitch has assigned Climate Vulnerability Scores to the metals and mining sectors in a […]
By CRU Senior Coal Analyst Dmitry Popov, and Senior Analyst Banmeet Khurmi, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, April 7 Among the latest sanctions against Russia, the EU is planning to introduce a full import ban of Russian coal from August 2022. In this Insight, we look at the EU’s reliance on Russia for thermal […]
I continue to watch what is happening in Europe, the Middle East and in Asia as it relates to the flow of steel-and steel-related commodities that normally come from Russia and the Ukraine. One of my experienced trading contacts was wondering if the Russians will begin flooding China with cheap steel. (Wouldn’t that be special?) […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Matthew Watkins and Research Analyst Christopher Dix, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service, Feb. 28. Contributors Erik Hedborg, Dmitry Popov, Ryan McKinley and Clare Hanna. Following the escalation of the situation in Ukraine, we set out what positions Russia has currently in the export market through the steel value chain. In the short term […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg and Senior Coal Analyst Dmitry Popov, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, Feb. 24 On Feb. 24, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine as President Vladmir Putin ordered a large-scale “specialized military operation.” Russian troops entered Ukrainian territory – from Belarus in the north, the separatist-controlled regions in the […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. could join other steel producers in adding electric-arc furnace (EAF) capacity, the company’s top executive said. The Cleveland-based steelmaker is considering that because the cost of relining a blast furnace – and investing in the supply chains needed to feed it – are roughly the same as those for of building a new EAF. […]
Algoma Steel Group swung to a profit in its fiscal 2022 third quarter thanks to steel prices rising faster than raw material and energy costs. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based sheet and plate producer also said that construction was underway for its transition to electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking. All told, the company recorded net income […]
Algoma Steel Inc. has secured Canadian $220 million (U.S. $172 million) in funding from the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to help pay for its conversion to electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based steelmaker said the government money would pay for equipment for the project, which carries a total price tag of approximately […]
By CRU Steel Analyst Tiago Vespoli, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, Nov. 17 There is a high probability that the weather phenomenon La Niña will start at end-November, which could have serious consequences for the steel supply chain, depending on the severity of the event. Some expected impacts include increased rainfall in Australia and […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Matthew Watkins, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service, Nov. 18 There was a big price collapse in China over the past month. HR coil export prices have fallen by 13% since October and rebar is down by 10% in the same period. For HR coil, this means that China has returned […]
Editor’s note: SMU contributor Bryan Tice is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and the firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. Before joining Metal Edge Partners, Bryan held a variety of commercial […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. isn’t feeling the heat of soaring metallurgical coal prices, at least not yet. And the Cleveland-based miner and steelmaker plans to turn to its own mines if the market overheats. “We are benefiting from our existing multi-year contracts with suppliers and also the supply from our own coal production operations,” a company spokeswoman […]
SMU contributor Tim Stevenson is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Tim’s previous role, he was a Director at Cargill Risk Management, and […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg and Analyst Nikki Ni, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The city of Tangshan, two hours east of Beijing, plays an extremely important role in the global steel market. It is the largest steelmaking hub in the world and accounts for 14% of China’s crude steel production, equal to […]
By CRU Analysts Ben Carstein and Lize Wan On Oct. 9, it was reported that Chinese state-owned power plants and steel mills had received verbal notice from China’s customs to stop importing Australian metallurgical and thermal coal with immediate effect. In this article, we review the announcement and its potential implications. Has the Announcement Been […]
By CRU Senior Analysts Ryan Smith and Andrew Gadd, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Oil markets have had a torrid 2020, with the combination of demand losses due to Covid-19 and the breakdown of coordination between major producing countries resulting in plummeting prices. In this Insight, we assess how this oil price shock influences […]
By CRU Analysts Ryan Smith, Andrew Gadd and Ben Carstein Oil markets have had a torrid 2020, with the combination of demand losses due to Covid-19 and the breakdown of coordination between major producing countries resulting in plummeting prices. In this Insight, we assess how the oil price shock influences steelmaking costs through both raw […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Manjot Singh, from CRU’s Metallurgical Coal Market Outlook Seaborne coking coal prices were steady last week as market participants adopted a “wait-and-see” approach due to the ongoing uncertainty in the coal market. There are upside risks to seaborne prices in the form of relatively strong demand in China, and ease of […]
Cleveland-Cliffs expects operations to normalize during the second quarter as end-markets begin recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. “Although the pandemic effect led to automotive plant shutdowns over the past six weeks, the timing and pace of production restarts as well as consumer sales data have both exceeded our expectations,” said Cliffs’ Chairman, President and CEO […]
Cleveland-Cliffs will idle AK Coal due to reduced demand for coal in internal operations resulting from manufacturing shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said in a statement: “Cleveland-Cliffs continues to evaluate internal operational requirements for metallurgical coal required for steelmaking. Significant reductions in manufacturing in the United States resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, […]
By Senior Coal Analyst Ben Carstein, from CRU’s Metallurgical Coal Market Outlook Despite weakening fundamentals in the Chinese steel market, the seaborne metallurgical coal market, and hence prices, remain supported. Chinese HRC and rebar prices are up about RMB90 /t over the week. However, we believe this largely reflects trader purchases that have not been […]
By Peter Ghilchik, Head of CRU Multi Commodity Analysis and Production, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service CRU expects a return to commodity demand growth in 2020, albeit a weak recovery, as industrial production growth recovers to 2.2 percent; however, risk is heavily weighted to the downside. Economic uncertainty, weak demand and an increasing focus on […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan Smith and Senior Consultant Sarah Macnaughton, from CRU’s Crude Steel Market Outlook Climate change is moving up the political agenda and putting increasing pressure on heavy industry to reduce their CO2 emissions. As the largest producer of global industrial CO2 emissions, the steel sector has a clear role to play in meeting […]