

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
Brazil fills coated steel quotas quickly
Brazil fills coated steel quotas quickly
Sao Paulo, 15 July (Argus) — Importers filled 60pc of Brazil's coated steel import quotas in the first 15 days following the imposition of duties in late June, according to foreign trade secretariat data. Brazil's quota system includes 17 steel products under a 25pc tariff regime, three of which are flat coated steel. The quotas came into effect on 24 June and will remain valid through October, when volumes will reset and new import licenses will be issued. Nearly 300,000 metric tonnes (t) of coated steel can enter Brazil at a 9-10pc duty rate, but volumes above that are subject to the higher 25pc tariffs. Galvalume (GL), a zinc-aluminum coated product, accounts for 147,038t of the quota. This item had 64pc of its four-month allocation already used by 9 July, while hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) reached 56pc of its 144,286t limit. The fast quota consumption rate points to robust demand, with buyers moving quickly to front-load shipments before the limits are reached. Demand for hot-rolled coils 3mm or thinner was also strong, with buyers filling 65pc of the 9,520t product's quota in two weeks. The quota system allocates 80pc of the total volume to the largest importers, a rule that applies to all 17 steel products subject to the 25pc tariffs. The other 20pc of the limit is reserved for smaller market participants. Smaller importers consumed 100pc of their share for at least two steel products. This means smaller players must pay a 25pc tariff on further shipments of those products until the quota resets in October. The Brazilian government has extended the tariffs through May 2026, when it will evaluate the future of the policy. The safeguard measure was first imposed in June 2024, but had limited effect in curbing rising import volumes. Imports reached a record 5.9mn t in 2024 , according to industry group Instituto Aco. Beyond the quota system, the government is also conducting anti-dumping investigations into imports of hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated steel. The probes are expected to take at least six more months to conclude. No provisional duties have been imposed yet . By Isabel Filgueiras Brazil steel import quotas t Product Quota volume June-October 25 Consumed by 9 Jul % of consumption Hot-rolled HRC, ≥600mm wide, 4.75–10mm thick 1,285 285 22.2 HRC, ≥600mm wide, 3-4.75mm thick 3,111 1,245 40.0 HRC, ≥600mm wide, ≤3mm thick, ≥275 MPa 9,520 6,232 65.5 HRC, ≥600mm wide, ≤3mm thick 23,490 1,972 8.4 HRC, ≥600mm wide 29,394 578 2.0 Flat-rolled, ≥600mm wide 468 51 10.9 Cold rolled CRC, ≥600mm wide, 1-3mm thick 47,950 12,302 25.7 CRC, ≥600mm wide, 0.5-1mm thick 108,765 14,114 13.0 CRC, ≥600mm wide 9,273 4,763 51.4 Galvanized HDG, ≥600mm wide, <4.75mm 144,286 81,394 56.4 GL, ≥600mm wide 147,038 94,821 64.5 HDG, ≥600mm wide 1,915 764 39.9 Wire rod Wire rod, circular section <14mm dia 32,535 13,572 41.7 Tubes Seamless tubes ( oil, gas industry) 6,295 1,627 25.8 Submerged arc welding steel pipes, >406.4mm OD 490 24 4.9 Welded circular steel pipes, >406.4mm OD 420 43 10.2 Welded circular (oil, gas industry) 1,679 295 17.6 -Brazil's foreign trade secretariat Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Import tariffs cost US steel mills $39mn in May
Import tariffs cost US steel mills $39mn in May
Pittsburgh, 15 July (Argus) — Blanket US import tariffs set US steelmakers back nearly $39mn in May for seaborne steel feedstocks and ferrous scrap shipments, an Argus analysis of import data found. The White House imposed 10pc import tariffs on most countries in early April, which raised the cost of imported ferrous scrap, pig iron, and direct reduced iron (DRI) integral to US flat-rolled electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers. US steelmakers in May imported 1.07mn metric tonnes (t) of steel feedstocks and ferrous scrap at a declared value of $386mn, according to US customs data and Argus analysis of manifest data. As a result, the 10pc tariff cost US steelmakers at least $38.6mn in May for imports of pig iron, DRI produced by Nucor at its Trinidad plant, iron pellet feedstock used at Nucor's Louisiana DRI plant and bulk ferrous scrap from Europe. Argus excluded steel feedstocks and ferrous scrap imports from Canada and Mexico because they are exempt from the tariffs under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Excluding shipments from Mexico and Canada, US steelmakers imported 592,000t of pig iron in May at a value of $268mn, as well as 38,500t of ferrous scrap at a value of $16mn, and 126,000t of direct reduced iron (DRI) at a value of $52mn, according to US customs data. Nucor imported four bulk vessels of iron ore pellets in May from Brazil to its Louisiana DRI facility, which totaled 314,000t, according to Kpler vessel tracking data. The declared value of iron ore and concentrates imported from Brazil for the month was $161/t, US customs data shows. Argus estimated that the total value of these bulk vessels was $50.6mn. Electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker Nucor largely brushed aside bottom-line impacts from US import tariffs on iron metallics and scrap in its April quarterly earnings call because of its diversified raw materials sourcing strategy and other US trade policies supporting the steel industry. The import tax encouraged Indiana-based EAF steelmaker Steel Dynamics to lean more heavily on prime and shredded scrap in its flat-rolled melt mix, the company said in April on its quarterly earnings call. US president Donald Trump dealt EAF steelmakers a few major blows this week after he threatened to place a 50pc tariff on Brazilian pig iron imports and iron ore products and a 30pc tariff on European ferrous scrap on 1 August. The combination of these new tariffs would further amplify costs for US steelmakers and could prompt them to rejig their international and domestic supply chains. This could shock the domestic ferrous scrap market in the coming months and cause large shifts in global trade flows. By Brad MacAulay Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Trump threatens 35pc tariff on Canada by 1 August
Trump threatens 35pc tariff on Canada by 1 August
Houston, 15 July (Argus) — The US will impose a 35pc tariff on all imports from Canada effective on 1 August, President Donald Trump said in a 10 July letter to Canadian prime minister Mark Carney. The letter, which Trump posted on social media, noted that Canada previously planned retaliatory tariffs in response to the US' first tariff threats in the spring. He repeated his earliest justification for the tariffs — the illegal smuggling of fentanyl into the US from Canada — and said he would consider "an adjustment" to the tariffs if Canada worked with him to stop that flow. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU tariffs threaten US EAF prime scrap imports
EU tariffs threaten US EAF prime scrap imports
Pittsburgh, 14 July (Argus) — A proposed 30pc tariff on US imports of European scrap could deal another blow to electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers' iron metallics supply chains. US president Donald Trump threatened on 12 July to impose steep blanket tariffs on imports of all European goods, effective 1 August . The Netherlands, Poland and Sweden are major suppliers of prime scrap to the US. US steelmakers, already preparing for a 50pc tariff on Brazilian pig iron , would face dwindling options for sourcing essential iron metallics and clean scrap units if both the European and Brazilian tariff threats are implemented next month. The combination could shock the domestic ferrous scrap market in the coming months as mills are forced to rejig their international and domestic iron metallic and prime scrap supply chains. Steelmakers have largely been able to brush aside the bottom-line impacts from the White House's 5 April implementation of 10pc reciprocal tariffs on iron metallics imports from the continent, but the new elevated rates could stifle flows to the US, according to market participants. European prime scrap has accounted for 28pc of all US prime scrap imports through May this year, according to US customs data. US steelmakers imported 222,000 metric tonnes (t) of European prime scrap over this period, up 94pc from the prior year. The European tariff announcement came on the heels of the proposed 50pc tariff on Brazilian goods, which would include pig iron. Brazil is the largest single supplier of pig iron to the US and since 2024 it accounted for nearly 70pc of all shipments to the US, according to US customs data. Seaborne prime scrap bulk cargoes are a natural pivot for US EAF sheet mills trying to substitute a portion of their monthly pig iron supply, but options are limited. US mills would have to increase their seaborne consumption of prime scrap from Canada, Mexico or the UK to offset a portion of the drop. Canada is the largest source of imported prime scrap to the US, at around 31pc through May this year, followed by Mexico at 28pc. But steep tariffs on steel and auto imports from both countries have likely slowed manufacturing and busheling generation. Mexico's industrial production rose by 0.6pc in May from April, driven by a rebound in construction activity but additional tariffs pose a fresh risk to its recovery. The UK is the third largest single source of seaborne primes to the US, at around 13pc of total imports over the same period. But it is unlikely that the UK could offset the potential drop in the European shipments because of its manufacturing footprint and regional competition for prime grades. By Brad MacAulay Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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