Steel Strip

I came across this article in a news release by the Steel Guru. I must confess that I had not come across the SteelBenchmarker before, but it would seem to be a valuable resource for steel traders and buyers. SteelBenchmarker™ is a global steel benchmark pricing system for use by steel industry participants. The products covered include hot-rolled band, cold-rolled coil, standard plate and rebar. The regions for these prices are the United States, Western Europe, and the world export market. Additionally, there are benchmark prices for steel scrap in the United States. I would love to here from any users of the site, about how valuable they find it, particularly in these times of volatile pricing.

The SteelBenchmarker reported that the US hot rolled band spot price for July 14th slipped 0.3% to USD 1,184 per tonne, FOB the mill, after sixteen consecutive rises totaling USD 610, World export HRB price rose 1.3% to USD 1,111 per tonne, FOB the port of export, for the fifteenth consecutive rise totaling USD 530, Chinese HRB ex works price rose 2.2% to USD 733 per tonne, after slipping last time and the Western European HRB price surged 4.2% to USD 1,204 per tonne, ex works for the eleventh consecutive time totaling USD 491.
USA
USD 1,184 per metric tonne FOB the mill
Down by USD 3 per tonne from USD 1,187 three weeks ago
Up by USD 624 per tonne from the recent low of USD 560 on August 13th 2007
Up by USD 554 per tonne from the recent high of USD 630 on April 9th 2007
2. China
USD 733 per metric tonne ex works
Up by USD 16 per tonne from USD 717 three weeks ago
Up by USD 263 per tonne from the recent low of USD 470 on October 22nd 2007
Up by USD 246 per tonne from the previous high of USD 487 on September 10th 2007
3. Western Europe
USD 1,204 per metric tonne ex works
Up by USD 48 per tonne from USD 1,156 three weeks ago
Up by USD 541 per tonne from the recent low of USD 663 on July 23rd 2007
Up by USD 508 per tonne from the recent high of USD 696 on June 11th 2007
4. World Export Price
USD 1,111 per metric tonne, FOB the port of export
Up by USD 14 per tonne versus USD 1,097 three weeks ago
Up by USD 561 per tonne from the recent low of USD 550 on July 23rd 2007
Up by USD 515 per tonne from the recent high of USD 596 on March 26th 2007

EUROFER said that in line with earlier projections, the EU economy held up well in the first quarter of 2008 amidst weakening global fundamentals. However, indications that the EU economy will lose momentum heading into the second half of the year have become stronger.
Confidence indicators cooled significantly in recent months due to deepening fears over the negative impact of the US slowdown, the global financial crisis and particularly on concerns about the impact of rising inflation on the EU economy. The latest forecasts submitted by the members of Eurofer’s Economic Committee still show GDP growth at 1.8% in 2008, but next year looks set to see a more marked slowdown to a below-trend 1.4%.
Q1’08 output growth in the EU steel using sectors was somewhat stronger than previously anticipated. However, it is also evident that activity in the steel using sectors is seen slowing compared to the very robust growth rates registered in the 2006-07 period. The deceleration is projected to intensify in the 1st half of 2009. By then, order books will be getting thinner whereas business conditions in the EU and in the international export markets will be affected by slowing global demand for capital and consumer goods. A mild rebound in activity is foreseen towards the end of 2009.
All in all, output in the steel using sectors is expected to increase by 2.5% in 2008 and 1.7% in 2009.
So far this year, the supply-demand situation in the EUsteel market was relatively well-balanced. Although in the first quarter, imports were slightly up on the Q4 ’07 level, robust end-use fundamentals enabled EU mills to regain market lost in 2006-07 due to the drastic increase in imports into the EU market. EU mills stepping up domestic deliveries resulted in a 5 percentage-points gain in market share compared to Q1’07.
Mid’08 inventory levels were generally assessed to be in line with the overall still firm downstream activity levels in the distribution chain and at end-users.
On balance, apparent consumption in the whole of 2008 is seen rising by 0.6%. First projections for 2009 signal 2% growth in apparent consumption as a result of the expected mild increase in real steel consumption and the absence of significant destocking.
This projection suggests a reduction in imports in 2008 and a slight rise in 2009. Should imports start to rise at an earlier stage or more sharply, then the supply demand situation in the EU steel market looks set to become unbalanced again.

The Indian Steel industry could be in for another shock with the government now considering banning exports of flat steel products with a view to check rising inflation. "If the prices of flat steel products are not being kept in check, either the export duty could be increased or a ban on exports could be considered to increase domestic availability," committee of secretaries (CoS) said.
It also noted that the government may consider increasing export duty on long steel products and subsequently explore the possibility of banning iron ore exports to increase domestic availability. Steel prices have since January this year shot up by around 50%, adding to the double-digit inflation, which is hovering at a 13-year high of just below 12%.
Government had on June 13 exempted flat rolled products of iron and steel, including galvanised products, pipes and tubes that attracted export duty ranging from 5-15%  from the purview of the export duty.

Automobile makers and construction firms could face another round of cost push from next month.
Taking a cue from primary steel or hot-rolled coil (HRC) makers, leading secondary steel producers, including Bhushan Steel and Uttam Galva, are also looking at raising price of cold-rolled coils (CRCs) and galvanised sheets by 15-20% next month. HRC is used for making CRC, which is primarily used in the construction and automotive sector.
At present, while HRCs are priced at Rs 36,000/tonne in the domestic market, CRC prices are hovering at around Rs 41,000/tonne. Primary steel players may go for another round of price hike in August to protect their margins on the back of soaring raw material prices, sources said. In the past four months alone, steel prices have surged by almost 30%.
After the government’s intervention in May this year, steel producers had rolled back prices by Rs 4,000/tonne and promised to hold prices for a 3-month period, which ends in the first week of August.

Full story EconomicTimes

Steel maker Nucor Corp. says strong shipments and growing margins lifted its second-quarter profit by 68 percent, beating Wall Street expectations.

Nucor said Thursday it earned $580.8 million, or $1.94 per share, in the quarter ended June 28. That’s up from $344.9 million, or $1.14 per share, a year ago.

Nucor says its sales rose 70 percent to $7.09 billion, partly on higher volumes. It says its average sales price climbed 24 percent.

Now ain’t that a surprise! i wonder how it’s customers are doing?

Nabucco, the European Union’s natural gas pipeline project, intended to reduce the bloc’s dependence on Russian natural gas, has been dealt another setback — and this one could hit European consumers in the wallet.

The companies involved in the project, already plagued by delays in construction and financing, said Tuesday that its cost would grow by nearly 60 percent because of higher steel prices.

The participating companies said they were concerned that the new estimated cost of almost 8 billion euros, or $12.4 billion — 60 percent more than initially planned — will be passed on to consumers once the pipeline is completed in 2014.

Reinhard Mitschek, managing director of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International, which is overseeing the infrastructure project, said sharp increases in crude oil prices and commodities could not have been anticipated in the original price of 5 billion euros established by a feasibility study in 2005.

Evraz Group SA, the steelmaker partly owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, bought a 16 percent stake in Australian iron-ore company Cape Lambert Iron Ore Ltd., potentially derailing a bid to sell the company’s mine to China.

“It is Evraz” that bought the holding, Tony Sage, a director in Perth-based Cape Lambert, said today by phone from Singapore. “At this stage, there has been no discussion of a bid or the price of a bid.”

Global steelmakers are seeking to secure raw-material supplies including coal and iron to help cut costs as prices surge. Cape Lambert agreed in February to sell its iron-ore project to China Metallurgical Group Corp. for A$400 million ($391 million).

“Evraz is building a global business, and their strategic objective is to” meet all their own iron-ore needs, said Michael Kavanagh, an analyst with UralSib Financial Corp. in Moscow. “One would imagine they’d go for a full takeover. It’s a first step into Australia.”

Cape Lambert, which had disclosed the stake purchase yesterday without identifying the buyer, jumped 6.5 Australian cents, or 8.9 percent, to close at a record 79.5 cents on the Australian stock exchange. The company’s London-listed shares gained as much as 12 percent to 38 pence.

Cape Lambert’s board met today with representatives of Evraz and Merrill Lynch & Co. in Singapore, and the talks may lead to a takeover offer, Sage said earlier by phone. The board will not accept an offer less than A$1.20 a share, he said.

Bloomberg.com: Emerging Markets