Tata Steel Loses, German Steel Industry Bleak, Korea Pig Iron Plummets

The still-dismal European economic situation seems to be taking its toll on the steel industry.

Tata Steel reported greater than expected losses in the third quarter. After tax, Tata’s loss ended up at $139 million, “its highest in three years, compared with a loss of $110m in the same period in 2012,” according to the Financial Times.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Germany’s steel industry lives in a pretty bleak house as well. ”The economic and structural conditions are difficult,” German steel association president Juergen Kerkhoff was quoted by the news organization as saying.

Both Germany’s ThyssenKrupp and ArcelorMittal reported huge drops in profit recently, and the Europe’s steel sector “produced 4.7 percent less crude steel in the EU in 2012 than a year earlier, the steepest decline of any region in the world,” according to Reuters.

So what happened on MetalMiner’s weekly steel price index?

Current Steel Prices
This past week, Korean pig iron dropped 12.4 percent on the weekly Raw Steels MMI®, making it the week’s biggest mover. The price of Korean steel scrap decreased 4.3 percent from the previous week.

Chinese steel, iron ore and coking coal prices were flat for the week.

On the LME, the 3-month price of steel billet rose 5.6 percent last week to $285.00 per metric ton. Last week, the cash price of steel billet shifted slightly on the LME, rising by 0.8 percent to close at $267.00 per metric ton.

The spot price of the US HRC futures contract fell 2.8 percent to $615.00 per short ton after rising 1.4 percent the week before. Following a 0.5 percent drop, the US HRC futures contract 3-month price finished the week at $637.00 per short ton.

After a 2.6 percent decline, US shredded scrap closed out the week down.

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.