Steel Strip

For the first time, the government is toying with a proposal to impose export duties on steel in a bid to discourage exports and manage supply-side constraints. Steel - a major input for most industries from auto to construction and equipment - has seen a huge escalation in prices over the last few months, triggering [...]

China on Tuesday froze some iron ore shipments from Australia’s two largest mining groups, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, potentially transforming annual price negotiations into a diplomatic, as well as a commercial, dispute.
The move, which hit spot cargos, came as the miners continue to seek large price increases for long-term contracts to Chinese customers.
China is [...]

The soaring cost of importing coal has forced bosses at the Scunthorpe Corus steelworks to increase the price of wire rod for the second month in succession. The latest price hike will take effect for deliveries from Scunthorpe from April 28, but at this stage the company is unable to specify the [...]

Most wire rod producers are planning to raise mill list prices by $40/ton in April.
The price announcements from ArcelorMittal, Keystone Steel & Wire, Gerdau Ameristeel and other producers match the previous $40/ton price increases in January and February. The mills are quoting list prices in March of $760-780/ton while buyer surveys show low-carbon wire [...]

Russian steelmaker Evraz announced Friday it will buy Canada’s IPSCO for $4 billion.
Evraz is creating a stronger base in North America for downstream steel products, such as steel plates and tubes, the Russian firm said in a statement. IPSCO Inc. makes steel plate, as well as pipes for the gas and oil industry.
"This deal will [...]

Voestalpine AG, Austria’s leading metallurgical company , is considering Ukraine as the site for its upcoming project to build one of Europe’s biggest steel-producing mills reported the Kyiv Post on March 13. If Ukraine is selected over other countries in the Black Sea region, experts said the multi-billion-dollar proposal would represent the nation’s single-largest [...]

Russian steel maker Severstal boosted net profit 33.1 percent last year as steel prices rose and the company passed on inflationary costs to customers in the Russian and European steel markets.
Severstal, Russia’s largest steel maker including foreign assets, said in a statement 2007 net profit rose to $1.94 billion as Russian demand rose and the [...]

Jobs at Llanelli’s Corus tinplate works are safe - for the time being at least, bosses say.Rumours have been circulating the town over the future of jobs in the Trostre-based works, as the European market for tin appears to be on a downward curve. However, the Star, after receiving several phone calls from [...]

Soaring steel prices were given a further upward twist yesterday when Corus warned of a second rise for an important product in less than a month.
At the end of February Corus said it was raising the price of wire rod by between £70 and £90 a ton from the end of this month. Yesterday it [...]

 
Specialty steel producers have been expecting buyers to re-enter the market for stainless steels in early 2008, but buying continues on an as-needed basis. The stainless-using manufacturing sector has been contracting so there have been lighter shipments of stainless steel lately in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Atop that, nickel prices increased by more than [...]