https://www.engineeringnews.co.za
Steel
Steel
steel

Steel outlook darkens as Citi sees low prices until 2022

28th August 2019

By: Bloomberg

  

Font size: - +

The steel industry is suffering a bad headache as benchmark hot-rolled coil prices have fallen 38% from their peak in 2018.

Over supply and low demand are marking a the new reality for steelmakers, according to analysts. Shares in the NYSE Arca Steel Index are down 19% in the past month.

Benefits from the Trump administration’s tariffs on foreign steel imports have diminished and demand has been disappointing, Citigroup analyst Alexander Hacking wrote in a note to clients. He predicts an extended period of below-normalized prices and said he expects hot-rolled coil prices to be around $550 per ton through 2022 and $600 for the long-term. That compares to a high of $920 per ton in 2018.

KeyBanc analyst Philip Gibbs said his survey of steel product distributors showed “fragile supply demand,” prompting him to cut his pricing estimates to about $600 per ton from ~$620 for 2019 and 2020. Gibbs said he thinks more supply reduction is needed to balance the market and until then, earnings for the steelmakers are expected to trend lower.

How bad could it get? According to Vertical Group’s Gordon Johnson, who has been the biggest bear on the sector, it’s likely to get much worse. His analysis shows that US and global steel prices could hit the lows of 2015, around $364 per ton, due to over supply and trade war rhetoric.

However, Citi and KeyBanc analysts have some good news for investors. There are still ways to play this downturn as some companies are trading at a discount.

Hacking’s preferred stock is Steel Dynamics Inc. due to its cheaper valuation and “multi-year growth platform.” Meanwhile, US Steel Corp. is his least preferred, given the risk of disappointing returns on its multi-billion dollar investment program. Elsewhere, Gibbs recommends being defensive and prefers Nucor Corp. and Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. versus their peers.

US Steel fell as much as 3.1% on Tuesday, along with peer AK Steel Holding Corp., which tumbled 4.6% intraday. Steel Dynamics and Nucor also declined slightly.

Edited by Bloomberg

Comments

Showroom

Condra Cranes
Condra Cranes

ISO-certified Condra manufactures overhead cranes, portal cranes, cantilever cranes and crane components: hoists, drives, end-carriages, brakes and...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Booyco Electronics
Booyco Electronics

Booyco Electronics, South African pioneer of Proximity Detection Systems, offers safety solutions for underground and surface mining, quarrying,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Magazine round up | 19 April 2024
Magazine round up | 19 April 2024
19th April 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.075 0.132s - 159pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now