By Alanna Petroff| 2017-05-15 10:16:35

Europe is taking another whack at cheap steel from China.The European Commission has announced new anti-dumping duties on pipes and tubes made from steel and iron in China, its latest attempt to stop the flow of cheap metal from the country.The duties of 29% to 55% were imposed after an investigation found that Chinese firms were dumping steel into Europe at unusually low prices that hurt local competitors.Dominique Richardot, a representative for the European Steel Tube Association, said the duties were "very good news" because they would level the playing field.Wang Hejun, an official at China's Ministry of Commerce, said the EU had taken an unfair approach to its investigation. Wang urged the EU to treat Chinese firms impartially and fairly.It's not the first time that China has been accused of dumping cheap steel on world markets.The Chinese construction boom of the past decade meant domestic steelmakers could rely on steadily growing demand at home. But the building bonanza is over, and China's economy is experiencing a broader slowdown.Some of the excess production has been sent abroad and sold at very low prices, making it difficult for U.S. and European producers to compete.Europe has imposed nearly 20 similar measures designed to penalize the Chinese steel industry."The EU currently has an unprecedented number of trade defense measures in place targeting unfair imports of steel products related to high levels of industrial overcapacity and subsidies in China," the European Commission said in a statement.Source: http://money.cnn.com

By Manolo Serapio Jr| 2017-05-12 16:36:35

Shanghai steel futures rose for a third straight day on Wednesday, supported by worries over tighter supply after China's leading steel-producing city launched a fresh campaign to improve air quality.Tangshan in northern Hebei province said steel mills that fail to meet emission standards face suspension and heavy fines. The campaign runs from May 9 to 31.The most-active rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed up 2.5 percent at 3,077 yuan ($446) a ton.Tangshan, home to dozens of steelmakers, is located in heavily polluted Hebei province, China's biggest steelmaking region. Hebei produced 192.6 million tonnes of steel last year, nearly a quarter of the national total.Tangshan accounted for close to half of that, with output at 88.3 million tonnes, and has been the target of a tough new inspection campaign aimed at rooting out firms that break the rules.Traders say mills in Hebei were also asked to reduce or suspend production before the One Belt One Road summit in Beijing on May 14-15 to help clear China's skies.The fresh curbs "will help rein in steel production and rebalance the steel market, helping stabilize steel prices and speed up inventory drawdown," Argonaut Securities analyst Helen Lau said in a note.Along with steel, iron ore futures also rose, rebounding after recent losses.Iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed 2.6 percent higher at 474.50 yuan per ton. The contract fell to a four-month low of 456.50 yuan on May 5.The recovery should help stabilize spot iron ore prices which dropped to their lowest in nearly seven months this week.Iron ore for delivery to China's Qingdao port rose 1 percent to $60.75 a ton on Tuesday, according to Metal Bulletin.But ANZ analysts say the crackdown on Chinese steel mills should reduce demand for iron ore, pointing to lower prices going forward."Concerns remain that a combination of a crackdown on leverage, together with high stocks and seasonally weak demand, will drive further weakness in prices in the near term," they wrote in a note.(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Richard Pullin and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

By http://www.moneycontrol.com| 2017-05-12 13:43:28

India has imposed anti-dumping duty on 47 steel products, a government statement said, reinforcing New Delhi's tough stance despite complaints from some of the targeted countries.Between April 2016 and January, India's steel imports fell 38 percent year-on-year, data from a government body showed, primarily due to the slew of protection measures announced by the government.The anti-dumping duty is levied on hot-rolled flat products of alloy or non alloy steel, originating in or exported from China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia, the statement, issued late on Thursday, said.Source: http://www.moneycontrol.com

By Maytaal Angel/Edmund Blair| 2017-05-11 10:23:20

China is serious about cutting millions of tonnes of excess steel capacity but that will not mean lower production, particularly in the next few quarters, the head of the European Union steel body Eurofer said on Wednesday.China pledged early last year to cut 150 million tonnes of excess capacity by 2020. The move, along with rising steel trade barriers and an infrastructure spending splurge by Beijing, helped global steel prices surge 45 percent since December 2015.But Chinese steel prices have slipped in recent weeks on concerns about a slowdown in construction and infrastructure projects."I think the Chinese government has a genuine goal of reducing capacity because they subsidize it, its costing them lots of money ... but cutting capacity doesn't mean you cut production," Eurofer president Geert Van Poelvoorde said."There will be in the next quarters more overproduction in China," he told the European Steel Day conference in Brussels.Output in China, which accounts for half of global steel production, rose 4.6 percent in the first quarter to 201.1 million tonnes, after a 1.2 percent increase to 808.4 million tonnes last year.However, Chinese steelmaking capacity has fallen. China, which holds nearlyhalf the world's 800 million tonnes of spare capacity, cut 65 million tonnes of capacity in 2016 and aims to cut another 50 million tonnes this year.China's cuts last year, part of a crackdown on polluting industries, mostly involved idled plants. Closing other plants may be more difficult because of the risk of social unrest as jobs are lost in the labor intensive steel industry."China is complex, most plants are in the provinces. When the central government decides something, it doesn't mean the provinces execute it," said Van Poelvoorde, who is also CEO of ArcelorMittal Europe Flat Steel Products."It's not so easy to implement and what they (will) manage to do is not so clear," he said.In addition, he said China's cuts might not be enough to balance an oversupplied market as Iran and Russia, amongst others, have added new capacity beyond their domestic needs. "They'll start to export much more, so for sure China's cuts won't be enough," he said.A report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation (OECD) and Development said global steel capacity rose 1.4 percent in 2016 to 2.39 billion tonnes.Iran has 19 projects planed between now and 2019 that will expand capacity by almost 24 million tonnes, adding to existing estimated capacity of 28 million tonnes now, the OECD said.(Reporting by Maytaal Angel; Editing by Edmund Blair)Source: Reuters

By Würth Industry North America| 2017-05-10 10:07:38

Würth Group executive vice president Marc Strandquist announced on Monday the selection of Nancy Duncan as Würth Industry North America’s (WINA) new director of human resources. In this executive level position, Duncan will play a critical role in cultivating WINA’s greatest resource: its people. “Nancy is a leader with a commitment to improving operations and a passion for developing talent,” Strandquist said.In her new role, Duncan will report directly to the executive vice president and provide strategic leadership on human resource matters. “Nancy joins our executive leadership team to help elevate our organizational performance through the development and retention of employees, integration and support of acquired and start-up companies, benchmarking and best practices, as well as a resource to the WINA companies,” Strandquist said.Also new to the group, a fastener solution duo, bring a combined 20 years of experience to their new distribution company.WINA has hired Scott McDaniel as national accounts manager for the group. McDaniel brings a decade of fastener distribution and leadership experience to the national sales team. His cross-functional expertise will help WINA continue to grow and expand."We are thrilled to add talent like Scott to our sales team,” said Marc Strandquist, executive vice president of WINA. “He has a track record that speaks for itself.”Prior to joining WINA, McDaniel served in several leadership capacities ranging from vice president of global sales, vice president of purchasing and regional operations director.Also new to the team, Joseph Hansen has been named oil and gas regional sales representative for WINA, supporting Würth Snider and Dokka Fasteners, a member of The Würth Group. Joseph will be helping to grow WINA’s presence in the oil and gas market — providing customers with access to world class manufacturing capabilities, engineering and logistical experience of the Würth Group.Joseph has established himself as an industry expert providing safety related, highly critical engineered fasteners for customers in the oil and gas industry and original equipment manufacturers producing equipment for power generation. His knowledge of the oil and gas industry’s API specifications allows WINA to offer customers detailed expertise of both critical and non-critical fasteners — providing solutions to meet their specific needs."We are excited to welcome Nancy, Scott and Joseph to our team. Nancy’s background, as well as Scott and Joseph’s understanding of the fastener distribution market and their relationship with customers is unparalleled in this business,” says Executive Vice President, Strandquist. “They all bring a level of professionalism and experience that will augment our already strong group.”Source: Würth Industry North America

By The China Post| 2017-05-09 09:20:18

Taiwan is among eight countries and regions that will soon face United States trade sanctions as they have sold certain carbon and alloy steel plates at what are considered to be unfairly low prices in the U.S. market, according to Taiwan's Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT).In a final ruling on May 5, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) said steel makers in the eight countries had caused material damage to their U.S. counterparts.The anti-dumping tariffs on Taiwan exporters will range between 3.62 percent and 6.95 percent, with some companies hit with 5.29 percent, the BOFT said.China Steel Corp. (中鋼), the largest steel supplier in Taiwan, will face an antidumping duty of 6.95 percent, while Shang Chen Steel Co. (尚承) will have to pay 3.62 percent, according to the BOFT.China Steel and Shang Chen Steel are the two mandatory Taiwanese respondents in the case.The seven other countries, namely Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and South Korea, will be required to pay tariffs of between 5.38 percent and 148.02 percent, the bureau said.France will face the highest duty of 8.62 to 148.02 percent, while the tariffs on China and South Korea will be 68.27 percent and 7.39 percent, respectively, the BOFT said.The tariffs will take effect seven days after the USITC officially informs the U.S. Department of Commerce on May 18 of its final ruling and will last at least until 2022, as the U.S. government usually reviews such cases every five years, the BOFT said.In addition to the anti-dumping tariffs, the DOC will impose a countervailing duty (CVD) of 251.00 percent and 4.31 percent on Chinese and South Korean carbon and alloy steel plate exporters, respectively.Taiwan's exports of certain carbon and alloy steel plates to the U.S. hit a record 53,000 metric tons in 2014, with a value of US$37.14 million, but since then have been falling gradually, according to the BOFT.In 2016, exports of those products to the U.S. market fell to 24,665 tons and the sales value to US$13.42 million, the BOTF said.Source: http://www.chinapost.com.tw

By Leia Toovey| 2017-05-09 09:08:03

US steel prices have recently run into resistance after rallying in 2016. The rebound in American steel prices was largely due to the bevy of duties slapped onto steel imports after it was found that certain importers were unfairly subsidizing their steel producers. The recent pullback isn’t necessarily reflective of market weakness, it is a result of the market being in a bit of a hiatus, waiting to see how Trump’s “Buy American” policies pan out and also what the results are of the pending trade suits.If it is proven that steel imports are in fact a matter of national security, then tariffs will be permitted and this will most certainly trigger another price rally. While US Steel’s recent earnings showed how vulnerable steel companies remain and how sustained, higher pricing is necessary for the company – tariffs and “Buy American” rules might not end up being the best thing for the US economy.US pipeline operators have already raised their concerns that by forcing them to use US steel in their pipeline building that higher costs may negatively impact their bottom lines and in turn force cost-cutting measures such as layoffs. While steel prices need to hold steady in the US for steel companies to benefit, and they have been too low – a huge rally due to over-protection also isn’t great for the overall American economy.Chinese steel prices set the floor for international steel prices. Prices in China are moved by supply and demand dynamics. US steel prices have been negatively hit by unfair trading by China and other countries, but it seems that for now a further crackdown on trading is needed for US steel prices to climb higher.Source: http://www.economiccalendar.com

By SURESH P IYENGAR| 2017-05-08 00:00:00

If the imported steel price is above the base price that triggers an anti-dumping duty, the Indian buyers have to pay only the import duty of 12.5 per cent.MUMBAI, MAY 7:  The protection against imports given to domestic steel companies has become redundant with international prices rising above the base price prescribed in the anti-dumping duty.The development has exposed steel companies, reeling under high debt, to competition from international producers, at a time when demand is set to grow on the back of the government’s plans to spend ₹3 lakh crore in infrastructure this fiscal.The Directorate General of Foreign Trade recommended a base price of $489 a tonne on HR coil imports from China; the prevailing provisional anti-dumping duty price is fixed at $478 a tonne.If the imported steel price is above the base price that triggers an anti-dumping duty, Indian buyers have to pay only the import duty of 12.5 per cent.Steel prices in China jumped to $500 a tonne last month due to sharp rise in coking coal prices. However, it fell back to $470-480 a tonne as coking coal exports from Australia are reviving after tropical cyclone Debbie disrupted supply in March.Nikunj Turakhia, President, Steel Users Federation of India, said imports can now be made for specific products from select countries if Indian producers kept prices artificially high."We expect steel prices to come down in the coming months as prices of coking coal and iron ore have eased. India, which has an excess of HR steel coil production, has exported 7 lakh tonnes at $430-440 a tonne to Vietnam in the past few months due to weak domestic demand," he added.The price of coking coal had doubled in April to about $310 a tonne. Prices may soften, but are unlikely to touch the low of $75 a tonne as it did in January last year.H Shivramkrishnan, Director (Commercial), Essar Steel, said that unlike a year ago, the ability of exporting countries to dump steel in India is limited as raw material prices have gone up. Besides, he said, the government is proactive and watchful.Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com

By Manolo Serapio Jr/Tom Hogue/Sher| 2017-05-05 10:52:38

Chinese iron ore futures tumbled 8 percent on Thursday, to their biggest single-day fall in more than five months, on concerns that demand for the raw material was at risk from slower steel consumption.Shanghai rebar steel slumped more than 6 percent while other steelmaking raw material coking coal also slid.China’s crude steel production reached a record 72 million tonnes in March and there were indications that output remained high through the first 20 days of April, said Wang Di, analyst from CRU consultancy in Beijing.As steel prices dropped last month, though, some Chinese mills pushed forward their maintenance schedules to somehow manage output, said Di.The most-active rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 6.2 percent to close at 2,931 yuan ($425) a tonne, after sliding by its exchange-set floor of 7 percent earlier.Iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange dropped 8 percent to end at its downside limit of 485 yuan per tonne, marking its biggest daily drop since Nov. 16."We are bearish," said Di on her outlook for iron ore prices. Demand this month “could be even worse than now or compared to end-April,” she said.Iron ore shipments to China from Australia’s Port Hedland terminal, used by top miners BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group, rose to 34.86 million tonnes in April from 31.5 million tonnes in the previous month, port data showed on Wednesday.Inventory of imported iron ore at China’s major ports reached 130.55 million tonnes as of April 28, up 950,000 tonnes from the previous week, SteelHome said. The stockpiles hit 132.45 million tonnes in March, the most since SteelHome began tracking it in 2004.Thursday’s plunge in futures could drag down spot iron ore prices again after they had stabilised in the past two days.Iron ore for delivery to China’s Qingdao port .IO62-CNO=MB was little changed at $68.68 a tonne on Wednesday, according to Metal Bulletin.Coking coal futures on the Dalian exchange fell 5.8 percent to 1,049.50 yuan a tonne, while coke dropped 6 percent to 1,493 yuan.Source: Reuters (Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Tom Hogue and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

By Joe Deaux| 2017-05-02 10:18:21

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. wants the U.S. government to widen its investigation of unfairly traded steel shipments -- from the exporters to the importers.Last month, President Donald Trump told the Commerce Department to expedite a study on whether steel imports are a U.S. threat to national security. While China has long been considered a prime target, Cliffs Chief Executive Officer Lourenco Goncalves says the probe shouldn’t overlook the part played by domestic steel importers."There’s a missing portion in the entire supply chain that hasn’t been addressed yet: What about the recipients of this steel, the guys that play both sides?” Goncalves said last week by telephone. "At the same time they have a public speech supporting the trade cases and saying all the right things, under the radar and behind everybody’s back they are buying a lot of deducted steel and asking the middle man to bring more."Goncalves, 59, said the government should even consider levying jail time, depending on the level of the threat to national security.'Operating Challenges'In 2016, a gauge of the stee and iron-ore industry in the Americas had its best year since 2003 due in large part to a spate of successful trade cases slapping duties on foreign imports, including from China. While global steel prices have improved in the past year, some American steel producers, including No. 2 U.S. Steel Corp., continue to struggle. Last week, U.S. Steel posted earnings that missed analysts’ estimates, citing “operating challenges” that blunted the effect of higher prices.Cliffs, the largest U.S. iron-ore producer, which makes it heavily dependent on the health of domestic steelmakers, also reported disappointing earnings last week. Its shares dropped to the lowest in five months on Thursday after the Cleveland-based company reported a first-quarter loss and cut its outlook for 2017.Trump campaigned heavily on the commitment to revitalize struggling U.S. industries like steel and aluminum. Questions about the future of the American steel industry have since become a hot political topic, with Trump signing a "Buy American” order to buoy American steel producers by forcing projects such as U.S. pipelines to use steel made in the country.In mid-April, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross began a probe investigating whether steel imports are “in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security.” Trump declared the opening of the investigation “a historic day for American steel and most importantly for American steel workers.”Goncalves noted that many past trade cases were initiated in response to company requests."But this one is different, self-initiated by the government," Goncalves said in the interview. "That makes for a much more compelling jump start for the case."Source: www.bloomberg.com