This Morning in Metals: January Finished Steel Import Market Share Hits 26%
This morning in metals news, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported finished steel imports accounted for 26% of the U.S. market, analysts expect the index that measures market volatility to come back down and General Motors reported strong 2017 earnings.
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Steel Import Market Share 26% in January
According to the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, steel import permit applications for January totaled 2.914 million net tons (NT), up from 17.7% from the 2.475 million permit tons recorded in December, according to an AISI report. It was up 18.9% from the December final imports total of 2.45 million NT.
According to AISI, finished steel imports occupied 26% of the market share in January.
Analysts Expect VIX Index to Drop After Early-Week Spike
The CBOE VIX index — the index which measures market volatility — spiked early this week as a massive selloff sent the Dow Jones plunging on Monday and Tuesday.
According to a Bloomberg report, however, analysts expect the index to come back down — albeit not as low as previous lows — indicating relatively low volatility.
GM Reports Strong 2017 Earnings
General Motors had a strong 2017, following on the heels of the a strong 2016, according to a company release this week.
The automaker reported full-year 2017 EBIT-adjusted of $12.8 billion.
“Results were driven by strong performance in North America, improvement in GM International led by strong equity income in China and a return to profitability in South America, sustained growth of GM Financial and an intense focus on costs,” the release stated.
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For the fourth quarter, GM posted EBIT-adjusted of $3.1 billion, up 18.7% year over year.
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