Steel
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Overview
Argus provides benchmark pricing and market intelligence across global semi‑finished and finished steel markets- including billet, slab, hot‑rolled coil (HRC), cold‑rolled coil (CRC), hot-dip galvanized (HDG), plate, rebar and more. Leading commodity exchanges such as the London Metal Exchange and Chicago Mercantile Exchange rely on Argus steel benchmarks as the settlement basis for HRC futures in China and Europe, reinforcing Argus’ role as an unbiased and independent provider of global steel price references. Our flagship NW Europe HRC and China HRC benchmarks, in addition to US HRC are widely embedded in physical steel contracts, strengthening price transparency and guiding procurement strategies, helping market participants settle supply contracts. Using indices allows companies to trade material on an index-linked basis, not only via fixed price sales, offering significant advantages when prices are volatile.
Argus delivers global steel coverage with localized insight across major trading regions- including the US, Latin America, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, offering a clear view of steel market drivers, price trends and regional market dynamics through Argus Global Steel. Together with Argus Steelmaking Raw Materials, this provides end-to-end insight across the entire steel supply chain- from upstream inputs through finished steel products. This intelligence is supported by robust trade‑volume datasets and continuous reporting on geopolitics, trade measures and supply demand shifts that influence global steel prices. Our methodology is underpinned by detailed context around the development of the price — including visibility into anonymized transaction volumes, data submissions and observable market trends — giving customers a level of clarity unmatched elsewhere in the market and strengthening confidence in every price assessment.
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Latest steel news
EU eyes deducting carbon credits under CBAM
EU eyes deducting carbon credits under CBAM
London, 13 May (Argus) — Domestic and Paris Agreement-aligned international carbon credits used to pay for emissions in non-EU countries could be counted towards a carbon price already paid on an import's emissions under the bloc's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), under proposals published by the European Commission today. Under the CBAM regulation, declarants can claim a reduction in the CBAM certificates they must surrender for emissions embedded in imported goods if a carbon price has already been paid in the country of origin. In a draft implementing act published for consultation today, the commission proposed including all forms of compliance options allowed in the relevant country in the calculation, including carbon credits. Claiming this reduction should be allowed "irrespective of whether the mitigation activities linked to the carbon credit takes place domestically or outside the domestic jurisdiction", according to the draft implementing regulation. But while domestic credits could be counted with no additional criteria, only international credits issued under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement should be counted, the commission proposed. "This criterion should promote the development of Article 6 credits and provide the quality assurance necessary to ensure the environmental integrity of CBAM," it said. Counting international credits as a carbon price already paid on CBAM goods should also be limited to 10pc of the reported emissions to incentivise domestic emissions cuts, the commission said. Any rebates or compensation received by installations covered by carbon pricing should also be factored in, the commission proposed, including free allowances or other exemptions. The carbon price could have been paid on direct, indirect or precursor emissions, under the draft. The commission may publish default carbon prices for relevant countries, it said. And it proposed publishing a yearly reference price for CBAM certificates to be used in the calculation of the deduction. The price paid in the non-EU country would be based on either a yearly average primary or secondary market price or individual records of payment, converted to euros based on yearly average exchange rates. The regulation would apply from 1 January this year. The consultation closes on 10 June. By Victoria Hatherick Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US producer inflation surges by 6pc in April
US producer inflation surges by 6pc in April
Houston, 13 May (Argus) — Prices paid to US producers surged by an annual 6pc in April, the biggest gain since December 2022, spurred by rising energy costs triggered by the Mideast Gulf war. The producer price index (PPI) gained from an upwardly revised 4.3pc in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices rose by 3.4pc in February and by 3.1pc in January and were at 2.4pc in April last year. The PPI report comes one day after BLS reported that the consumer price index rose by an annual 3.7pc in April , the biggest gain in nearly three years. The PPI report shows more inflation is in the pipeline, triggered by the Mideast Gulf war that started on 28 February. "Stickier core inflation from AI buildout, passthrough from the oil price shock, and lingering tariff effects will keep the Federal Reserve at bay for most of 2026," Oxford Economics said in a note. "Eventually, we expect higher energy prices will feed through to weaker consumer spending and a softer labor market, prompting the Fed to deliver its next rate cut in December." Prices for energy rose by 22.7pc in April from a year prior following 11.2pc originally reported the prior month, BLS said. Energy for export rose by 50pc after an 18.6pc gain. Core producer prices, excluding volatile energy and food, rose by 5.2pc in April after a 3.8pc gain the prior month. Prices for goods rose by an annual 7.4pc in April, led by gasoline, compared with 4.9pc originally reported the prior month Services rose by 5.5pc, partly led by margins for trade services, after a gain of 3.7pc. Food rose by 2.2pc in April after a 1.6pc gain the prior month. Transport and warehousing services rose by 12.2pc after a 6.1pc gain the prior month. Transportation of passengers rose by 11pc after a 7.5pc gain in March. On a monthly basis, seasonally adjusted PPI rose by 1.4pc in April following a 0.7pc monthly gain in March and 0.6pc gains each of the prior two months. By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU steel prices sustained by trade measures: Assofermet
EU steel prices sustained by trade measures: Assofermet
London, 8 May (Argus) — EU mills are sustaining steel prices through trade barriers rather than stronger demand, Italian steel association Assofermet said on Friday. Weak demand from European manufacturing end users continued in April as geopolitical tensions, US tariffs and uncertainty around the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism weighed on sentiment. Buyers continued to limit purchases to what they needed to cover existing orders, with no appetite for restocking, the association said. Assofermet also flagged concern ahead of the revised EU safeguard measures due to enter force on 1 July, which will reduce available import quotas by 47pc and double duties on volumes exceeding quarterly quotas. The association said increasingly constrained imports are making it harder to source certain steel grades within the EU market. The group also backed stricter "Made in EU" procurement rules, similar to European steel association Eurofer , which warned about defining European steel based on where material is melted and poured to prevent imported substrate processed in the EU from qualifying as European-origin steel. Italian steel distributors reported lower sales volumes and prices in April compared with the same month last year, with long steel and flat steel products both under pressure. The automotive and heavy engineering sectors continued to be affected by US tariff policies and uncertainty surrounding potential measures on European cars. Assofermet expects the market to remain cautious at least until the implementation of the revised EU safeguard measures and the 1 August deadline for EU-US trade negotiations. By Elif Eyuboglu Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil's April pig iron exports down, scrap up
Brazil's April pig iron exports down, scrap up
Sao Paulo, 8 May (Argus) — Brazil's pig iron exports dropped in April, largely because trade with the US stalled over tariff uncertainty and a major domestic holiday in February. Brazilian pig iron producers exported around 267,155 metric tonnes (t) of pig iron in April, down by 27pc from approximately 367,165t in the same period last year. The decrease is mostly owed to market dynamics from February, as pig iron shipments usually have a two-month lag from the date in which the sale was executed to when the cargo is loaded and marked as exported, meaning April shipments were generally booked in February. A combination of factors led to the decline, including lower US demand, a major holiday in Brazil and tariff uncertainty. Some US buyers stepped out of the market in the first two weeks of February as they were sufficiently stocked at the time because of a series of purchases made in December and January. After that, Brazil-based sellers slowed exports because of Carnaval, the largest holiday in Brazil's calendar year with around five consecutive days off. In 2025 the same holiday instead stretched mostly into March. In late February, just days after Carnaval, US president Donald Trump announced that he was mulling a 5 percentage-point increase to his 10pc blanket levy, making sellers hesitant to execute sales before the policy became clearer — again slowing sales. The US accounted for 97pc of all Brazil's pig iron exports in April. There were no shipments to Europe in the period. Ferrous scrap Brazil's April ferrous scrap exports marginally increased from a year before. Brazilian scrapyards exported almost 58,810t in April, a 9pc increase from the same period last year. India and Bangladesh received over 85pc of all exports from Brazil, with Indian buyers purchasing nearly 66pc of all volumes. The remaining shipments were scattered among 17 other countries. By Pedro Consoli Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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