CRU Audits Its Steel Price Index

The WSJ reported that “CRU officials say they hope the move to audit their metal price data providers will lend added credibility at a time of concern about indexes. Three banks in Europe have agreed to pay over $2 billion in settlement fees to U.S. and U.K. regulators after they were caught manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, the interest rate banks charge to borrow from each other.”

Josh Spoores, a Pittsburgh-based steel analyst for CRU, told the WSJ that “the company started receiving more requests for improved transparency after the Libor scandal.”

ArcelorMittal, U.S. Steel Corp and Nucor Corp all stopped using CRU’s index, since they felt it unfairly reflected the actual market for steel. Which begs the question: perhaps it’s time to branch out and try new, independent metal price indexes?

Check out current steel and raw materials price report this week:
This week’s biggest mover on the weekly Raw Steels MMI® was the steel billet 3-month price, which saw a 6.2 percent decline on the LME to $150.00 per metric ton. This comes on the heels of a 6.7 percent increase the week before. At $130.00 per metric ton, the steel billet cash price remained essentially flat on the LME.

Chinese steel prices were mixed for the week. The price of iron ore 58% fines from India inched a bit higher. Prices for Chinese HRC remained constant. The price of Chinese coking coal declined 0.7 percent over the past week. The price of Chinese slab fell 1.1 percent over the past week. This was the third week in a row of declining prices.

A 1.7 percent gain landed the spot price of the U.S. HRC futures contract at $588.00 per short ton. Last week, the U.S. HRC futures contract 3-month price shifted slightly, rising by 1.0 percent to close at $606.00 per short ton. Over the past week, U.S. shredded scrap saw its price shift up 0.3 percent.

Korean steel prices were flat for the week. Korean steel scrap traded sideways last week. Korean pig iron prices held steady from the previous week as well.

The Raw Steels MMI® collects and weights 13 global steel and raw material price points to provide a unique view into global steel price trends.