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According to Pipe Logix, June OCTG prices rose 0.3% (or $5/ton) to $1,670/ton, bringing an end to 14 consecutive monthly declines. The surprising increase was driven by…
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Archive for: ‘June 2013’
ArcelorMittal Leads Round 3 of Sheet Price Hikes
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As we expected, ArcelorMittal is leading a third round of sheet price increases with a $20/ton price hike, lifting its HRC list price to $650/ton, just two weeks after…
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Advance/Decliner Index Continues Up; China Index at Four-Month High
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Our Advance/Decliner Index rose for the third straight week to the highest level in three months. The increase was driven by our China Index which rose to a four-month high…
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May Imports Rise to 11-Month High; Hot-Rolled Sheet Lowest Since February 2011
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Preliminary May imports rose 4.6% from 2.68 million tons(mt) in April to 2.8 mt, the highest level since last June. The increase was primarily driven by…
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Domestic Steel Production, Capacity Utilization Increase for Third Week in a Row
Weekly domestic raw steel production rose for the third consecutive week, climbing 0.6% to 1.881 million tons (mt) for the week ending June 22, 2013, and is some 1.5% above the year-ago level of 1.854 mt.
We would caution readers that only half of the AISI reporting companies release their weekly production in “real time” so the other half of this data is estimated using the last month’s reported production & operating rate. What this means is that when production is changing, the weekly data is actually understating the change.
Capacity utilization also rose for the third straight week, rising to 78.5% from 78.1% last week, and was higher than the year-ago level of 75.0%.
The lowest production since the recession began was 800,000 tons for the week of December 27, 2008, while the highest was 2.005 mt for the week of May 12, 2012. The lowest capacity utilization rate since the recession began was 33.5% for the week of December 27, 2008; the highest was 81.1% on May 12, 2012.
Source: AISI and Steel Market Intelligence
Iron Ore Price Increases for Third Straight Week
The spot reference price for 62% Fe iron ore cfr North China rose 4.4% to $118.60 for the week ending June 21, 2013, up for the third consecutive week since hitting an eight-month low of $110.40.
The spot price for iron ore averaged $139.35 in 2Q12, $112.12 in 3Q12, $120.57 in 4Q12, and $148.16 in 1Q13; the full-year 2012 average was $128.30.
The post-recession low was $59.10 on March 27, 2009, while the high was $190.19 on February 17, 2011.
Source: The Steel Index
U.S. Rig Count Decreases, Canadian Rig Count Highest Since Early April
The number of active oil and natural gas rigs in the United States fell to 1,759 for the week ending June 21, 2013, a 0.7% decline from last week’s 1,771 and is some 10.5% below the year-ago level of 1,966.
The highest weekly rig count in the United States since 1940 was recorded on December 28, 1981, at 4,530; the lowest was recorded on April 23, 1999, at 488.
The number of rigs in Canada increased for the sixth consecutive week, climbing 11.9% from 176 to 197 this week, and reaching an 11-week high. Despite the increase, the count is still 17.2% below the year-ago level of 238.
The highest rig count for Canada was 727 on February 3, 2006; the lowest was 29, recorded on April 24, 1992.
Source: Baker Hughes Inc.
AK Steel (AKS) – Will Middletown Outage Rescue Flat-Rolled Market?
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AK Steel announced that its primary 2.5-3.0 million ton per year blast furnace at its Middletown (OH) Works facility experienced a mechanical failure that is likely to…
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Global Steel Production Sideways in May; Capacity Utilization Falls Below 80%
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May global steel production fell by a normal seasonal 0.2% from April to 4.397 million tonnes per day, but rose 2.6% from the year-ago level. The y-o-y growth was due to…
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May ABI Mixed Messages – Overall ABI Back Above 50; Commercial/Industrial Index Hits 3-Year Low
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The American Institute of Architects’ ABI Index – a leading indicator of non-res construction activity – rebounded to 52.9 in May, after falling to 48.6 in April – the first time…
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