Cleveland-Cliffs Inc

Cleveland-Cliffs’ (CLF) CEO, Lourenco Goncalves, believes that US steel prices should see a big upswing in the next few months.

After Cleveland-Cliffs’s (CLF) debt repayment concerns were taken care of, it started refocusing on growth.

Bumper margins prompted Chinese steel mills to continue increasing their output.

Earlier this year, U.S. Steel Corporation provided its sensitivity to spot steel prices, the quarterly EBITDA guidance, and annual guidance.

Iron ore prices showed a lot of volatility in 2017, which is continuing well into 2018.

US steelmakers (SLX) were facing an onslaught of increasing steel imports into the US, which impacted their capacity utilization and pricing power negatively.

On February 16, 2018, the US Department of Commerce released its recommendations for the Section 232 probe into steel and aluminum imports.

It’s vital for iron ore investors to track movements in the Chinese real estate market (TAO). This sector constitutes more than 50% of the total steel consumed in the country.

During the 4Q17 earnings call, analysts will carefully watch U.S. Steel Corporation’s 2018 guidance.

Of the 18 Wall Street analysts currently covering the BHP Billiton’s (BHP) stock, 61% rate it as a “buy,” 28% recommend a “hold,” and the remaining 11% have a “sell” recommendation on the stock.

Iron ore (PICK) volumes are key to BHP Billiton’s (BHP) revenues and earnings as iron ore is the single largest commodity produced by the company.

AK Steel’s 4Q17 financial performance AK Steel’s (AKS) 4Q17 earnings results are expected on January 30. In this article, we’ll see what analysts are projecting for AK Steel’s 4Q17 revenue. We’ll also look at what could drive AK Steel’s 4Q17 financial performance. According to analyst estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters, AK Steel is expected to post […]

Based on its January 12, 2018, closing price, Cleveland-Cliffs is trading ~28% above its 50-day moving average and 15.4% above its 20-day moving average.

Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) had accumulated debt over a number of years.

AK Steel (AKS) has gained sharply since mid-December. The stock, which traded weak for most of 2017, has shown strength in the past month.

Although investors are still concerned about Cleveland-Cliffs’ (CLF) debt, it has come a long way with respect to debt levels.

In this article, we’ll discuss analysts’ projections for Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF). Investors should note that drivers for CLF are quite different from those of its seaborne peers.

Iron ore prices have been very volatile lately. While the prices fell substantially in September 2017, they picked up after that.

Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) achieved US volumes of ~5.9 million tons in 3Q17, an increase of 11% year-over-year (or YoY).

China’s property sector is a steel-intensive market—consuming approximately 50% of overall steel in the country—followed by the automotive industry.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers originally forecast 5.0% growth in total vehicle sales for 2017.

Due to the government’s efforts to fight pollution in winter months, steel prices in China have hit a nine-year high in the first week of December 2017.

Overall, China’s steel production in 2017 was strong, which was mostly supported by higher steel prices and firm demand.

Iron ore prices were tumultuous throughout 2017. There is a 44% difference between the peak of $95 per ton in February and the trough of $53 per ton experienced in July.

China’s property sector is one of the most steel-intensive sectors, consuming approximately 50% of overall steel in the country.

Vale’s CFO (chief financial officer) Luciano Siani Pires said during Vale Day on December 6, 2017, that the company deserves a rerating of its valuation.

Vale has changed its product portfolio and quality in iron ore according to market demand. In 2017, it’s more focused on selling high-quality ore.

The drivers for Cleveland-Cliffs’ (CLF) top and bottom lines are quite different from the miners we’ve discussed in the previous parts of this series such as Rio Tinto (RIO), BHP (BHP), and Vale (VALE).

The Chinese automobile industry comes second, after the real estate sector, in consuming the most steel. In this article, we’ll look at the recent developments in this industry to track the associated iron ore demand.

In the previous part of this series, we discussed how the momentum in Chinese steel production in 2017 has come on the back of strong steel prices.

Iron ore prices in 2017 so far have been a roller coaster ride. Prices reached a peak of $95 per ton in February only to slump to a low of $53 per ton in July and take off soon after.

It’s important for investors to keep tabs on iron ore port inventories in China. Inventory levels show the balance between demand and supply for iron ore.

China’s total vehicle sales rose 2.0% in October 2017 compared to October 2016.

Vale’s (VALE) Ferrous division accounted for ~87.6% of its adjusted EBITDA in 3Q17, compared with ~82.0% in 2Q17.

The most-traded January rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 4.3% to 3,776 yuan per ton.

For 3Q17, Cleveland-Cliffs reported average realized prices came in at $90.50 per ton.

Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) released its 3Q17 results on October 20. CLF reported earnings per share of $0.36, beating the consensus estimate by $0.04.

According to consensus estimates, CLF’s net debt should fall 42% by the end of 2017 compared to 2016.

Cleveland-Cliffs’ (CLF) average realized prices increased 24% year-over-year and 22% quarter-over-quarter to $97 per ton in 2Q17.

China’s property sector China’s property sector is one of its most steel-hungry sectors, accounting for close to 50% of overall steel demand. Therefore, it is important for steel investors to keep tabs on the sector to gauge the steel demand outlook in China. China’s property sector once again appeared to be under stress in August. […]

Steel prices Along with steel production, steel prices are among the most important drivers of US steelmakers’ earnings. Therefore, steel and iron ore investors should track US steel prices (SLX). After being depressed for a long period, US steel prices started their upward march in 2016 after high anti-dumping duties were levied on imported steel. Prices also […]

US steel production As US (DIA) (DOW) steel production is US steelmakers’ major revenue driver, it’s very important to track it. In this part, we’ll discuss domestic production and capacity utilization. According to the World Steel Association, the United States produced 7.1 million tons of steel in August 2017, an increase of 6.3% YoY (year-over-year). Production rose 5.6% in […]

Cleveland-Cliffs now fully owns Tilden On October 2, 2017, Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) announced its acquisition of U.S. Steel Corporation’s (X) 15% equity interest in the Tilden mine for $105 million. Cleveland-Cliffs already owned the other 85% of the joint venture. This transaction will provide 1.2 million tons of annual pellet production capacity to Cleveland-Cliffs, taking its capacity to ~20 million […]

China is the world’s largest consumer of iron ore. Therefore, to gauge the outlook for iron ore demand, it’s important to track China’s iron ore import data.

Steel stocks have recouped some of their losses in the last two trading sessions. However, U.S. Steel Corporation (X) and AK Steel (AKS) have lost 5.3% and 4.1%, respectively, month-to-date based on their September 27 closing prices.

Steel production is raw material–intensive in nature. Iron ore, steel scrap, and coking coal are the key raw materials that go into steel production.

Wall Street analysts covering Cleveland-Cliffs estimate revenues of ~$2.4 billion in 2017. This implies growth of 14.7% year-over-year.

China was the largest steel consumer last year, with the mainland’s ASC at 681.0 million metric tons.

To gauge the steel demand outlook in China, it’s important to keep an eye on the property sector.

The American steel industry has written to President Donald Trump requesting that he restrict steel imports immediately.