Materials

Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) and U.S. Steel (X) stocks have underperformed markets this year. However, U.S. Steel has been strong in November.

In today’s Get Real, we saw Apple Watch’s performance and another loss for Boeing. Plus, Google’s Fitbit acquisition faces scrutiny from the EU.

Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) and U.S. Steel (X) are in the red this year. As we head into the 2020 election, both companies desperately need another “Trump effect.”

In today’s Get Real, we saw Tesla’s plans for China, AMD’s expectations for 2020, the state of crude oil prices, and more.

CLF and U.S. Steel Corporation are looking at electric arc furnaces, whose variable cost dynamics make them suitable for the cyclical steel industry.

AK Steel (AKS) gets most of its revenues from the U.S. For the past three years, more than 85% of its sales have come from the U.S. This makes AK Steel more exposed to the domestic market’s dynamics than global factors.

According to the EIA (U.S Energy Information Administration), natural gas prices were broadly mixed from November 29 to December 6, 2017.

AK Steel (AKS) stock was trading deep in the red in after-market trade on Wednesday. Based on the YTD price action, the stock is outperforming its peers.

AQR Capital opened new positions in the quarter—the notable ones being Riverbed Technology Inc. (RVBD) and Nordion Inc. (NDZ).

Steel serves as a raw material for various industries. You and I don’t consume the crude steel that’s produced in factories directly.

In Brazil, potash prices were flat at $281 per metric ton in the week ending January 12.

Iron ore, steel scrap, and coal are three main raw materials for steelmaking. Steelmaking is a raw material–intensive business.

Cement is classified into various categories based on its composition and specific end uses. Cement is classified as either portland, blended, or specialty cement. Investors can access the cement industry through the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO).

The aluminum industry has a value chain that consists of both upstream and downstream companies. Upstream companies are engaged in the mining and refining operations.

This series covers key trends that are currently affecting coal and natural gas prices and, consequently, nitrogen fertilizer producers as well.

The United States is one of the largest producers of agricultural products in the world, but it’s not a key producer of nitrogen fertilizers.

Nitrogen is an important nutrient for crop development and growth. It’s also the most important input that allows farmers to feed billions of people in the world.

Things could turn around for the US steel sector, with mills pushing for price hikes. Earnings results this week could also surprise positively.

Elon Musk found redemption in Tesla’s strong Q3 results. US steel led the downward spiral in the market along with Twitter and Nokia. 

Dow Jones Futures are pointing to a flat opening for the day. The flash PMI data and other economic data releases might impact markets today.

Trump imposed a 25% tariff on US steel imports in 2018, and he recently doubled Turkey’s Section 232 tariffs to 50%. Will this really help?

Alcoa’s Q3 results are set to be released tomorrow after markets close. Aluminum prices have been weak this year, and the stock is down almost 28%.

Will President Trump lift the steel tariffs like President Bush? President Trump’s steel tariffs will likely remain due to his support base.

Hedge funds’ net long positions in US natural gas futures (UGAZ) (UNG) and options contracts were at 5,318 for the week ending January 2, 2018.

China continued buying gold for the tenth consecutive month in September. The country also continued its de-dollarization bid.

The bottom line is that steel prices are weaker due to global weakness and tepid US demand. President Trump’s trade war has impacted steel prices.

Last week (ended September 20), gold rose 1.1% and settled at $1,507.30 per ounce. Meanwhile, the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) rose 2%.

JPMorgan Chase analyst Michael Gambardella downgraded US steel stocks. Gambardella had been bullish on US steel stocks even when Wall Street turned bearish.

Yesterday, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas provided his thoughts on Tesla while maintaining his rating and target price on its stock.

US steel stocks are rising today on multiple factors. There’s rising optimism over a US-China trade deal, and Chinese steel exports plummeted in August.

Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the US non-farm payroll data for August. The US economy added fewer-than-expected jobs last month.

Last year, President Trump slapped a 10% tariff on US aluminum imports. Alcoa didn’t support the tariffs in the first place.

Gold hit a fresh six-year high on Friday as trade tensions between the US and China escalated. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) closed up 2%.

Boeing (BA) stock closed 4.2% higher yesterday on news of its production ramp-up plan for its troubled 737 MAX planes.

In a regulatory filing, U.S. Steel announced layoffs. Last week, President Trump claimed that the US steel industry is “thriving” due to his tariffs.

Last week, US President Donald Trump said at a rally that the US steel industry was “thriving” under his presidency. Is he right?

Increased shareholder returns were the main motivation behind the Newmont Mining and Goldcorp merger.

Falling iron ore imports China consumes more than 70% of seaborne-traded iron ore. As a result, iron ore investors should track China’s demand and outlook. Today, China released its trade data for June. China’s iron ore imports were 75.18 million tons in June—9.7% lower YoY (year-over-year) and 10.2% lower month-over-month. In June, China’s imports fell […]

On June 27, US crude oil’s implied volatility was 33.7%—12.7% below its 15-day average. Lower implied volatility might support oil prices.

The US steel industry had a somber start to the year, and the sell-off only deepened as the year progressed.