HFA Icon

As Chinese Steel Mills Prosper, Watch For Steel Prices Rise

HFA Padded
Mark Melin
Published on
Updated on
Sign up for our E-mail List and Get FREE Access to Exclusive Investment E-books and More!

Are economic signals coming out of China pointing to a rise in steel prices? Chinese steel mills are in a “sweet spot,” a Macquarie commodities research piece noted. The research firm’s latest survey reveals increasing sentiment and, buoyed by higher prices, a willingness to expand. With strong expectations for production ramp-ups, iron ore could get a bid but this won’t necessarily extend to steel pricing. The Macquarie report comes in sharp contrast to a Credit Suisse report last December that claimed nearly 100% of steel production in China was done at a loss. The report also flies in the face of thoughts of a global slowdown being a Chinese issue.

HFA Padded

Mark Melin is an alternative investment practitioner whose specialty is recognizing the impact of beta market environment on a technical trading strategy. A portfolio and industry consultant, wrote or edited three books including High Performance Managed Futures (Wiley 2010) and The Chicago Board of Trade’s Handbook of Futures and Options (McGraw-Hill 2008) and taught a course at Northwestern University's executive education program.