On May 29, 2012, the 3-month price of steel billet experienced the biggest change on our daily steel price index, rising 4.1 percent on the LME to $402 per metric ton. Yesterday, the LME cash price of steel billet experienced a large decrease, rising 3.9 percent to land at $400 per metric ton.
Chinese steel prices were mixed for the day.
The week’s biggest mover on the Construction MMI® was the Chinese low price of 62% Australian iron ore fines, which saw a 1.9 percent decline. Last week marked the fourth in a row of declining prices for the metal.
Chinese steel was down, while US shredded scrap and bar fuel surcharges held relatively steady.
The week’s biggest mover on the Construction MMI® was the Chinese low price of 62% Australian iron ore fines, which saw a 1.9 percent decline to CNY 1,010 ($159) per dry metric ton. Last week marked the fourth in a row of declining prices for the metal. At CNY 4,140 ($653) per metric ton, the price of Chinese rebar finished the week down one percent. US shredded scrap remained essentially flat from the previous week at $432 per short ton. At CNY 3,950 ($625) per metric ton, the price of Chinese H-beam steel did not change since the previous week.
Prices for Chinese aluminum bar remained constant, closing the week at CNY 14,050 ($2,219) per metric ton. European 1050 aluminum prices held steady from the previous week at EUR 2,327 ($3,055) per metric ton.
The weekly US Midwest bar fuel surcharge closed at $0.53 per short ton after a flat week. Closing at $0.56 per short ton, the weekly US Rocky Mountain bar fuel surcharge remained unchanged for the week. At $0.53 per short ton, the weekly US Gulf Coast bar fuel surcharge remained essentially flat.
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On May 29, 2012, the 3-month price of steel billet experienced the biggest change, rising 4.1 percent on the LME to $402 per metric ton. Yesterday, the cash price of steel billet experienced a large decrease, rising 3.9 percent on the LME to land at $400 per metric ton.
Chinese steel prices were mixed for the day. The price of iron ore 58% fines from India hit a high price of CNY 850 ($134) and a low price of CNY 840 ($132) per dry metric ton. The price of Chinese HRC improved by 0.7 percent, closing at CNY 4,150 ($655) per metric ton yesterday. Chinese slab ended the day at CNY 4,020 ($634) per metric ton, after the 0.5 percent drop on Tuesday.
The 3-month price of US HRC futures contract showed little movement yesterday at $655 per short ton. The spot price of US HRC futures contract remained essentially flat at $662 per short ton.
At $655 per short ton, the 3-month price of the US HRC futures contract moved up 1.6 percent on May 28, 2012, making it the day’s biggest mover on our daily steel price index. The spot price of the US HRC futures contract steadied at $662 per short ton following two days of dropping prices.
Chinese steel and raw material prices came in flat for May 28, 2012.
Following on Part One of this story, the impact of the falling rupee may be more visible on the import of coking coal. India as of now is the 3rd largest importer of coking coal. As per some estimates, the Indian steel industry will need to import 36.8 million tons of coking coal in 2012 to meet estimated steel demand of 58.7 million tons.
Compared to last year, the international price of coking coal is down this year.
At $655 per short ton, the 3-month price of US HRC futures contract moved up 1.6 percent on May 28, 2012, making it the day’s biggest mover. The spot price of US HRC futures contract steadied at $662 per short ton following two-days of dropping prices.
Chinese steel prices were flat for the day. The price of iron ore 58% fines from India hit a high price of CNY 850 ($134) and a low price of CNY 840 ($132) per dry metric ton. The price of Chinese HRC showed little movement last Friday at CNY 4,120 ($650) per metric ton. The price of Chinese coking coal held steady at CNY 1,780 ($281) per metric ton.
Also on the LME, the cash price of steel billet rose 1.4 percent to $385 per metric ton. At $386, the steel billet 3-month price finished the market day on the LME up 1.4 percent per metric ton.
For the past six months or so, the Indian steel sector has been buffeted about by one negative development or another.
In the throes of a mining scam leading to a clampdown on iron ore mining and a subsequent shortage of good quality ore, the industry now finds itself battling possible higher import bills due to a falling Indian rupee.
And the weight of the rupee against the dollar has a direct bearing on the cost of steelmaking.
The cash price of steel billet fell 12.7 percent on May 25, 2012 to $379 per metric ton on the LME, making it the day’s biggest mover. The 3-month price of steel billet closed at $380 per metric ton. Following a couple days of improvement, prices fell by 12.5 percent on the LME.
Chinese steel prices were mixed for the day. The price of iron ore 58% fines from India hit a high price of CNY 850 ($134) and a low price of CNY 840 ($132) per dry metric ton. The price of Chinese slab fell 0.5 percent to CNY 4,040 ($637) per metric ton. The price of Chinese HRC remained steady at CNY 4,120 ($650) per metric ton.
The US HRC futures contract spot price declined 0.2 percent to $662 per short ton. The US HRC futures contract 3-month price saw little movement last Friday, closing out around $645 per short ton.
The week’s biggest mover on the Raw Steels MMI® was the 3-month price of steel billet, which saw an 8.5 percent decline on the LME to $421 per metric ton. This week marked the third in a row of declining prices for the metal. Closing out the third week of declining prices, the cash price of steel billet dropped by 7.7 percent on the LME, finishing at $419 per metric ton.
(Why the steel price drops? Where are prices of steel headed for the rest of 2012?)
Chinese steel prices, meanwhile, were mixed for the week.