JPM Steel | Daily Despatch Asian spreads -3%; US steel imports in focus; Cliffs eyes Middletown investment

Research evidence excerpt

JPM Steel | Daily Despatch Asian spreads -3%; US steel imports in focus; Cliffs eyes Middletown investment

mited spot availability to persist: HRC spot market participants told SMU they see no evidence of

the market softening in the near term. The same sources consistently tell SMU they’re not looking to purchase imports of

HRC because they seek lower prices, but because they want to remain competitive with customers. Source: SMU

• Turkish domestic scrap prices continue to fall, in line with imports: Turkish deepsea import scrap prices continued to fall

as participants reported weak market sentiment and limited downstream demand weighed on scrap prices. Platts assessed

Turkish imports of premium HMS 1/2 (80:20) at $380/mt CFR on July 1, down $2.50/mt on the prior day and $8/mt WoW.

Turkish mills consume more than 25 million mt of steel scrap annually of which a quarter is generally domestic.

• China EAF scrap use drops in mid-June as mills halt amid margin squeeze: Domestic EAFs’ daily average scrap usage

fell to 237,900 metric tons in the week to June 20, down 5% from the previous week. The decline reflects margin pressure

forcing some steelmakers to shut furnaces for annual overhaul rather than operate at a loss, according to CISA. Heavy rainfall

and hot weather across South China in June weighed on construction projects, cutting demand for rebar. Meanwhile, Chinese

steelmakers face a cost-price squeeze, with scrap prices holding firm even as finished steel product prices decline. Source:

Platts

• SK hynix reportedly removes price cap in memory long-term agreements, diverging from Micron: As Micron

announced another major Strategic Customer Agreement with General Motors, the structure of global memory makers’ long-

term supply agreements has come into focus.