Steel
Overview
The price indices in our Argus Ferrous Markets and Argus Global Steel services are widely used by companies in physical supply contracts around the world – for iron ore, coking coal, hot-rolled coil (HRC) and ferrous scrap.
Many of them are used as the settlement prices for cash-settled futures contracts launched by exchanges to allow users of the derivatives who also transact in the physical market to minimize basis risk while hedging. These cash-settled monthly futures contracts are settled against the arithmetic mean of all the published Argus prices during each calendar month.
Using indices allows companies to trade material on an index-linked basis, not only via fixed-prices sales. This offers significant advantages when prices are volatile, yet the modern finished steel market remains primarily transacted on a fixed price basis. The addition of futures markets offers opportunities to enhance supply chain resilience further.
Latest steel news
Recent deep-sea and short-sea cfr Turkey scrap deals
Recent deep-sea and short-sea cfr Turkey scrap deals
London, 5 December (Argus) — A summary of the most recent deep-sea and short-sea cfr Turkey ferrous scrap deals seen by Argus. Ferrous scrap short-sea trades (average composition price, cif Marmara) Date Volume, t Price, $ Shipment Buyer Seller Composition Index relevant 25-Nov 5,000 335 November Izmir Adriatics HMS 1/2 80:20 Y 25-Nov 3,000 335 November Izmir Romania HMS 1/2 80:20 Y 22-Nov 3,000 334 November Izmir Romania HMS 1/2 80:20 Y 21-Nov 3,000 334 November Izmir Romania HMS 1/2 80:20 Y 19-Nov 5,000 345 November Izmir Greece HMS 1/2 80:20, shred Y 19-Nov 2,000 342 November Izmir Malta HMS 1/2 80:20, shred Y 12-Nov 3,000 348 November Izmir Romania HMS 1/2 80:20 N 12-Nov 5,000 350 November Izmir Croatia HMS 1/2 80:20 N 12-Nov 5,000 350 November Turkey France HMS 1/2 80:20 Y 12-Nov 10,000 351 November Marmara France HMS 1/2 80:20 Y Ferrous scrap deep-sea trades (average composition price, cfr Turkey) Date Volume, t Price, $ Shipment Buyer Seller Composition Index relevant 2-Dec 40,000 337 (80:20) January Turkey Baltics/Scandinavia HMS 1/2 80:20, bonus Y 29-Nov 40,000 336.50 (80:20) January Marmara Baltics/Scandinavia HMS 1/2 80:20, bonus N 29-Nov 40,000 333 (80:20) January Izmir Cont. Europe HMS 1/2 80:20, shred, bonus Y 28-Nov 40,000 337.50 (80:20) January Izmir Baltics/Scandinavia HMS 1/2 80:20, shred, bonus Y 27-Nov 40,000 342 (80:20) December Marmara USA HMS 1/2 80:20, shred, bonus Y 26-Nov 40,000 337 (80:20) December Iskenderun Cont. Europe HMS 1/2 80:20, bonus Y 22-Nov 40,000 344 (80:20) December Marmara Scandinavia HMS 1/2 80:20, bonus Y 20-Nov 40,000 345 (80:20) December Marmara Scandinavia HMS 1/2 80:20, shred, bonus Y 20-Nov 20,000 340 (80:20) December Iskenderun UK HMS 1/2 80:20 Y Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US OCTG, line pipe imports drop for October
US OCTG, line pipe imports drop for October
Houston, 4 December (Argus) — US pipe and tube imports plunged in October. US OCTG volumes dropped by 71,900 metric tonnes (t) from the prior year to 67,600t in October, according to preliminary data from the US Department of Commerce. Shipments from Germany and Thailand plunged by 14,600t and 17,100t, respectively, from the prior year to essentially zero in October. South Korean volumes dropped by 18,800t to 9,600t, while Japanese shipments declined by 12,800t to 4,500t. Line pipe volumes dropped by 20,700t from the prior year to 68,100t for October. Lower volumes of unspecified diameter line pipe and line pipe of diameters of 16in or less led the declines in line pipe imports. Unspecified line pipe volumes dropped by 12,800t from the prior year to 21,400t, while 16in or less diameter line pipe volume fell by 13,600t to 23,000t. Vietnam's shipments of unspecified diameter line pipe dropped to near-zero from 7,200t the same period prior year. India's shipments of 16in or less diameter line pipe dropped by 4,400t from the prior year to near zero, while Romanian volumes dropped by 3,100t. Shipments of line pipe greater than 16in rose by 5,500t to 23,400t. By Rye Druzchetta US pipe and tube preliminary imports metric tonnes Product Oct-24 Oct-23 Difference ±% Sep-24 OCTG 67,596 139,489 -71,893 -51.5% 113,737 Line pipe 68,068 88,776 -20,708 -23.3% 85,865 Standard 61,568 69,400 -7,832 -11.3% 55,028 Heavy Structural Shapes 77,627 75,846 1,781 2.3% 40,560 US Department of Commerce; October 2024 data is preliminary data, which is subject to change. *Line pipe is all diameters. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US long product imports fell in October
US long product imports fell in October
Houston, 4 December (Argus) — Volumes of US long product imports fell in October on the year while jumping sequentially. US imports of reinforcing bar (rebar) were 87,800 metric tonnes (t) in October, down by 7,200t from the year prior, according to preliminary data from the US Department of Commerce. Rebar imports jumped by 49,500t from the prior month. Wire rod imports fell by 9,200t to 81,600t from a year earlier, and were up by 12,700t sequentially. Wire drawn product volumes fell by 8,900t to 50,500t from a year earlier, and rose by 6,000t sequentially. By Rye Druzchetta US long steel preliminary imports metric tonnes Product Oct-24 Oct-23 Difference ±% Sep-24 Rebar 87,770 94,964 -7,194 -7.6% 38,273 Wire rod 81,589 90,748 -9,159 -10.1% 68,934 Wire drawn 50,471 59,321 -8,850 -14.9% 44,504 Total* 219,830 245,033 -25,203 -10.3% 151,711 US Department of Commerce; October 2024 data is preliminary, which is subject to change. *Total includes only wire rod, rebar and wire drawn. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Nippon, US Steel deal will be blocked: Trump
Nippon, US Steel deal will be blocked: Trump
Houston, 4 December (Argus) — President-elect Donald Trump reiterated Tuesday his opposition to Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel's purchase of US Steel. "I am totally against the once great and powerful US Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan," Trump posted to his Truth Social account. Trump added that by using tax incentives and tariffs he would make US Steel "strong and great again". Trump did not specify the tax incentives and tariffs he would impose. The president-elect has threatened 25pc tariffs against Canada and Mexico and to impose 20pc tariffs on all imports into the US. The proposed sale of US Steel has faced contention ever since its competitor Cleveland-Cliffs made an unsolicited bid for US Steel in August 2023. US Steel went with Nippon's $15bn takeover bid in December of that year , which has since been opposed by the United Steel Workers (USW) union, politicians, and Cliffs. The merger is currently under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), before it goes to the president for a final decision. President Joe Biden, who has publicly said he would block the deal, may have the opportunity to make the final decision on the transaction before his term is up in January. If Biden makes a decision to allow the transaction to go through, it is unclear what, if any, recourse Trump would have with regards to the deal when he assumes office on 20 January. The US currently has 25pc Section 232 national security tariffs levied against steel imports from much of the world, a policy that Trump began in March 2018 during his first term. Since then both Trump and Biden allowed a number of countries and regions to be excluded from the 232 tariffs. The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), which represents the majority of US steel producers, on Monday called on Trump to remove most 232 exclusions and reimpose the 25pc tariffs on steel from Mexico. By Rye Druzchetta Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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Insight papers - 20/05/24Moving target: Using an index to track volatile steel prices
Flat steel prices have experienced unprecedented volatility since 2020. Against this backdrop, an increasing number of buyers have started to link their purchasing to price indexes.
Insight papers - 16/05/24Argus launches six new HRC cif Italy origin differentials
The market for importing hot-rolled coil (HRC) to the EU is being driven by a growing number of external factors that are widening differentials for prices from various origins, creating the need for new price assessments that improve transparency for an increasingly complex market.
Explore our steel products
FOB China HRC
The rise of the Chinese steel market has moved in lock-step with the development of the country’s economy. Crude steel output soared since the start of the millennium and that spurred raging raw material demand, which upended the coking coal and iron ore markets.
By 2012, China had established itself as a source of steel without peer, and while export volumes have moderated since then, China still exerts the dominant influence over Asia’s steel pricing.
In March 2019, the London Metal Exchange (LME) launched a new FOB China HRC futures contract to help market participants to manage their price risk. The contract is settled against the monthly average of the daily price assessments published in our Argus Ferrous Markets and Argus Global Steel services, and it has rapidly established itself as the most successful finished steel futures launch to-date.
European HRC
Current European steel capacity is most densely concentrated in an area encompassing parts of France, Germany and Benelux. While capacity has rationalized, the European industry has proven resilient throughout decades of change and faces the problems of raw material and finished goods price volatility as well as globalized price competition.
Steel prices remain regional by nature and, like Asia, Europe is only beginning to experiment with steel price indexation. To support market participants with their price risk management, CME Group launched a North European HRC futures contract in March 2020. The LME has announced plans to launch their own N. Europe HRC futures contract in late 2020.
Argus has been selected as the provider of choice by both exchanges, and both futures contracts will be settled against the monthly average of the daily Argus price assessments provided in our Argus Ferrous Markets service.
CFR Taiwan Ferrous Scrap
The US East Coast and Europe look to Turkey to set bulk scrap price direction. Conversely, the US West Coast & Japanese supply looks to Taiwan to set container scrap price direction, which sets wider Asian scrap pricing.
Container markets parcel sizes are more liquid and frequently-traded markets, and the LME has launched a new Steel Scrap CFR Taiwan futures contract in July 2021 to support market participants hedge their risk.
Argus has been selected as the provider of choice by both exchanges, and both futures contracts will be settled against the monthly average of the daily Argus price assessments provided in our Argus Ferrous Markets and Argus Global Steel service.