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
Eurofer requests steel import duty, quota changes
Eurofer requests steel import duty, quota changes
London, 9 January (Argus) — The European steel association Eurofer has requested a reduction in the safeguard quota volumes and a higher duty on material above quotas amid the ongoing measures review, according to partner at law firm Van Bael & Bellis Yuriy Rudyuk. The reduction in the quota volumes is to reflect the decrease in steel demand in the bloc. Eurofer data shows apparent steel consumption has decreased nearly 15pc between 2017 and projected 2024 volumes. The association is looking for the safeguard tariff to increase to 32-41pc from the current 25pc, Rudyuk said. In addition, a 15pc cap to countries' access to "other countries'" quotas is being requested — this mechanism already applies to the hot-rolled coils (HRC) and wire rod quotas. This would be particularly impactful for the hot-dipped galvanised quotas, which have been typically dominated by Vietnam. The association would also like for more country specific quotas to be introduced, for no residual volumes to be carried over, and for no new developing countries exemptions. Currently, developing countries who are members of the WTO with small historical supply to the bloc are exempt from the safeguards. Eurofer did not answer a request for comment. The EC is currently inviting users and producers of steel to submit a questionnaire for the ongoing measures review by 10 January. By Lora Stoyanova Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Consol, Arch shareholders approve merger
Consol, Arch shareholders approve merger
Houston, 9 January (Argus) — US coal producers Consol Energy and Arch Resources' shareholders today approved the companies' plan to merge. With the shareholder approval taken care of, the coal mining companies expect to their merger to close on 14 January, becoming Core Natural Resources. Consol will own 55pc of the combined company and Arch will have the remaining stake. Consol and Arch have projected Core Natural Resources to have 12mn short tons/yr (10.9mn metric tonnes/yr) of metallurgical coal capacity and 25mn st/yr of high-calorific thermal coal capacity. The merged entity also will house Arch's Powder River basin (PRB) mines, which produced a combined 34.7mn st in the first nine months of 2024 and 62.8mn st in all of 2023, according to the US Mine Safety and Health Administration. Arch and Consol have not specified what they will do with the PRB assets. Arch chief executive officer Paul Lang said in November 2024 that plans for the company's PRB operations are a "tougher discussion", than for plans for its other assets. Arch executives in recent years have talked about shifting away from thermal coal sales, particularly for the PRB. The new entity will have access to two east coast shipping terminals — the Consol Marine Terminal in Baltimore, Maryland and the Dominion Terminal Associates facility, which Arch co-owns with Alpha Metallurgical Resources. Core Natural Resources also will be able to ship to US west coast and the Gulf of Mexico ports. The companies won shareholder approval despite recent stockholder concerns that prompted legal challenges following the announcement of the proposal in August 2024. Three lawsuits were filed against Consol and Arch, and the companies also received demand letters from counsel representing individual stockholders, Consol said in a recent US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. The challenges alleged that the joint proxy statement issued by the coal producers contained "false and misleading" statements and omissions. Consol and Arch stated that these allegations were without merit, but on 3 January the companies submitted an 8-K filing with the SEC voluntarily amending the proxy statement "without admitting any liability or wrongdoing" to prevent any delays or adverse impacts to the merger's progress. By Anna Harmon Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Turkey ups some steel product import duties: Correction
Turkey ups some steel product import duties: Correction
Corrects products on which the new duties apply in paragraphs 1-4. London, 8 January (Argus) — Turkey has implemented higher import duties for some steel products, according to a gazette announcement from 31 December. Import duties have increased slightly for some hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) grades, mostly alloyed and stainless, and a small number of previously duty-free alloyed and stainless steel items now face tariffs. But commodity grade non-alloyed duties remain flat at 13-15pc for 2025. The lower end of the range is for re-rolling and pipe-making grades. The duty on non-alloyed cold-rolled products is stable at 17pc and there are no duty reductions if CRC is further processed. Hot-dip galvanised (HDG) imports, including alloyed sheets with a width of 600mm, continue to face a 20pc import duty. The pre-painted galvanised (PPGI) duty is set at 20pc, but duty for some alloyed grades has increased to 20pc from a previous 15pc. Countries under free-trade agreements are exempt, except for certain products from South Korea. If a country is subjected to anti-dumping (AD) duties in Turkey, they are also subject to the import tax. Turkey launched an AD investigation on CRC, HDG and PPGI imports from China and South Korea in the final week of 2024. Dumping duties were levied on hot-rolled coil imports from China, India, Russia and Japan in October. Exporters have the option to import material through the inward processing regime, which allows them to purchase material exempt from all taxes if they commit to processing and then exporting the material within nine months. By Elif Eyuboglu and Brendan Kjellberg-Motton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Strike at Port of Brisbane disrupts urea shipment
Strike at Port of Brisbane disrupts urea shipment
Sydney, 8 January (Argus) — Port operator Qube workers at Australia's Port of Brisbane have started a week-long strike today, which has likely already held up a urea shipment. The work stoppage will affect break-bulk operations, slowing the flow of commodities like fertilizers, steel and vehicles. This comes as a months-long dispute with the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) drags on across several key ports. The 42,493 deadweight tonne (dwt) Es Dignity , loaded with 32,559t of urea from Qatar, arrived near Brisbane on 7 January, according to trade analytics firm Kpler. This means the ship is unlikely to discharge on 8 January and will be delayed, according to market participants. The vessel previously discharged 8,397t of urea into Townsville on 2 January. Urea is a key fertilizer imported into Australia, and vessels carrying urea typically make multi-port discharges when making deliveries into Australia. The 37,657dwt Tientsin delivered 10,000t of urea into Brisbane on 22 December 2024, after making two 10,000t deliveries into Portland and Newcastle earlier that month. A urea supplier last offered granular urea at around A$760/t ($474/t) fca Brisbane this week. Urea prices in Australia have climbed rapidly in recent weeks, on the back of higher international fob levels in the Middle East and as a weaker Australian dollar made imports more expensive. Argus last assessed granular urea prices fca Geelong in Victoria at A$740-750/t (see graph) , but market participants indicated prices are now higher. But Australian demand for urea is currently low, so the delayed vessel is currently unlikely to impact local supply-demand dynamics significantly. A trader that regularly supplies Brisbane with urea cargoes expects the strikes to persist until at least March, when demand will have picked up and delays will have a larger impact. Port Kembla Qube and MUA have been negotiating an employment agreement since the middle of last year, prompting months of industrial action across the company's Australian ports. The Brisbane work stoppages come alongside an ongoing two-week work stoppage at Qube's facilities at Port Kembla, in New South Wales, which also affected break-bulk operations. "The [MUA's] industrial action has effectively stopped Qube's port operations at Port Kembla and forced our customers to make alternative stevedoring arrangements," a company representative told Argus at the start of the Port Kembla strike. The strikes at Port Kembla have had no impact on fertilizer deliveries so far, with GTT data showing no urea or phosphate deliveries made into the port in January or February in recent years. By Avinash Govind and Tom Woodlock Granular urea prices fca Geelong (A$/t) Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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Explore our steel products
FOB China HRC
The rise of the Chinese steel market has moved in lock-step with the development of the country’s economy. Crude steel output soared since the start of the millennium and that spurred raging raw material demand, which upended the coking coal and iron ore markets.
By 2012, China had established itself as a source of steel without peer, and while export volumes have moderated since then, China still exerts the dominant influence over Asia’s steel pricing.
In March 2019, the London Metal Exchange (LME) launched a new FOB China HRC futures contract to help market participants to manage their price risk. The contract is settled against the monthly average of the daily price assessments published in our Argus Ferrous Markets and Argus Global Steel services, and it has rapidly established itself as the most successful finished steel futures launch to-date.
European HRC
Current European steel capacity is most densely concentrated in an area encompassing parts of France, Germany and Benelux. While capacity has rationalized, the European industry has proven resilient throughout decades of change and faces the problems of raw material and finished goods price volatility as well as globalized price competition.
Steel prices remain regional by nature and, like Asia, Europe is only beginning to experiment with steel price indexation. To support market participants with their price risk management, CME Group launched a North European HRC futures contract in March 2020. The LME has announced plans to launch their own N. Europe HRC futures contract in late 2020.
Argus has been selected as the provider of choice by both exchanges, and both futures contracts will be settled against the monthly average of the daily Argus price assessments provided in our Argus Ferrous Markets service.
CFR Taiwan Ferrous Scrap
The US East Coast and Europe look to Turkey to set bulk scrap price direction. Conversely, the US West Coast & Japanese supply looks to Taiwan to set container scrap price direction, which sets wider Asian scrap pricing.
Container markets parcel sizes are more liquid and frequently-traded markets, and the LME has launched a new Steel Scrap CFR Taiwan futures contract in July 2021 to support market participants hedge their risk.
Argus has been selected as the provider of choice by both exchanges, and both futures contracts will be settled against the monthly average of the daily Argus price assessments provided in our Argus Ferrous Markets and Argus Global Steel service.