A downturn industry affects Liberty Steel workers at its Bartonville, Ill., facility face furloughs, but the company spokeperson say that this is temporary. Some of the workers were furloughed starting 20 July 2026 and this will impact the steel production as this mill is producing things like billets, wire rod, industrial wire, and fencing products.

This investment in Jharkhand state by 2028 to improve further capacity expansion especially towards low-emission steel production. This steel mill later on will increase production capacity in India from 27.35 million tonnes to 40 million tonnes.

The International Trade Administration Comission of South Africa (ITAC) made the investigation covers cold-rolled coils, cut-to-length products and narrow strip made of iron, non-alloy steel and other alloy steel beside stainless steel. This application is submitted by ArcelorMittal South Africa and ITAC stated that this becuase there is a causal link between increased imports into SACU (South Africa Customs Unions) markets and alleged injury to the local markets.

The U.S. Department of Commerce published several antidumping duty determinations in the Federal Register during the week of 15 July. On 21 July it issued preliminary results of the 2024–2025 administrative review for certain carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate from France. On 17 July it issued final results of the 2024–2025 administrative review for alloy and certain carbon steel threaded rod from China. Also on 17 July, Commerce published final results of the expedited first sunset review of the antidumping order on certain non-refillable steel cylinders from China. These actions continue routine enforcement of existing U.S. steel trade orders. Rates and specific margins are set out in the respective Federal Register notices.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Move Sideways, Stainless Steel Spot Offers Edge Higher with Improved Inquiries According to SMM on July 22, SS futures moved sideways overall. Despite a weak night session, the futures consolidated on a strong note after the morning open. As of the midday close, the most-traded SS contract settled at 14,825 yuan/mt. In the spot market, supported by the strong intraday consolidation of SS futures, market sentiment firmed somewhat. Traders lifted their stainless steel spot offers, and market inquiry activity increased. SS most-traded futures contract. At 10:15 am, SS2609 traded at 14,795 yuan/mt, up 55 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi stood at 225-625 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi rose by 50 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 304/2B coil with unedged width, the average price in Wuxi rose by 50 yuan/mt, and that in Foshan rose by 50 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in Wuxi remained flat; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil offers in Wuxi were unchanged; cold-rolled 430/2B coil was flat in both Wuxi and Foshan. This week, macro side, the US CPI data pulled back, inflation expectations cooled, and market risk appetite slightly recovered. Moreover, Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources made it clear that nickel ore production quotas for the year would see only a modest incremental increase, meaning limited growth potential and continued tightness in raw material supply. This provided solid bottom support for the spot market and drove SHFE nickel and SS futures to stop falling and rebound. On the spot and inventory front, steel mills held prices firm to underpin the market, while both transactions and arrivals improved…

According to VSA, Vietnam's crude steel output hit 15.18 million tonnes in H1 2026 (+26.9% yoy), far outpacing the broader industrial sector's growth (~11.4%). Finished steel production reached 18.21 million tonnes (+15.1%), though coated steel and cold-rolled steel continued to decline amid trade defense pressure. Exports totaled 5.5 million tonnes (US$3.7bn, +0.3%), while imports reached 7.8 million tonnes (US$5.6bn, +2.84%), leaving the steel trade balance in a deficit of roughly US$1.9bn. ASEAN, the EU, the US, and India remained the top export markets.

[Sheets & Plates] Today's hot-rolled coil and other sheets & plates export prices remained stable day-on-day, with HRC transaction prices at $486-491/mt. Some deep-processing products reported that market inquiries improved recently compared with the previous period, but carbon steel products have not yet shown significant changes.

[7.21 Morning Briefing] US media reports: US-Iran conflict intensifies, the Pentagon is accelerating the deployment of F-16 and F-35 fighter jets to the Middle East. Advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader: If US forces continue operations, Iran may shift to a full-scale offensive. The most-traded SHFE nickel 2609 contract surged in early trading then pulled back slightly, and as of the morning close, it reported 130,720 yuan/mt, down 0.13%. As the US-Iran conflict escalates, shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz have strengthened sulfur cost support. However, refined nickel inventories remain difficult to reduce. Both domestic and international inventories are still at high levels, and the destocking speed is slow. In the short term, the price of the most-traded SHFE nickel contract is expected to trade within the range of 125,000-130,000 yuan/mt.

The latest data from the General Administration of Customs shows that in June 2026, China's air conditioner exports reached 5.11 million units, up 11.5% YoY; cumulative exports from January to June totaled 39.16 million units, down 4.6% YoY.

[SMM Analysis] Steel Price Gap Narrows as Fluctuations Decrease; Global Markets Face Pressure Price spread moves sideways From the perspective of the price spread model, the China-India slab price spread rebounded from a low level and tightened significantly. Indonesia's significant price cuts led to a sharp contraction of $15/mt in the spread between the two recently. The current level is notably below the quarterly average (-44), largely returning to near the annual average line (-23). For HRC, affected by the new EU quotas, Turkey's stranded sheets & plates flowed back into domestic sales, causing a price collapse. Mainstream HRC export offers plummeted to $585/mt FOB, leading to a significant narrowing of the price difference with China. In addition, the price spread between China and the Black Sea region also narrowed. Due to weak demand and restricted exports, Russia's export offers adjusted downward simultaneously. However, according to SMM survey, despite steel mills' low prices and concessions, actual transactions were relatively limited. Data source: SMM Import Resource Competition Continues, Prices Under Pressure Last week, the Southeast Asian steel market was generally in the doldrums, with regional demand remaining sluggish. Although domestic steel mills in Vietnam sharply lowered HRC prices, buyers still focused on digesting inventories and purchasing as needed, while transactions for Indian and Indonesian materials were limited. For semi-finished products, Asian slab prices continued to decline, with Vietnam’s export offers falling to $490/mt FOB and Indonesian offers around $475–495/mt FOB, while even cheaper Chinese materials added to market pressure. Thai wire rod demand was also weak, with buyers showing low acceptance for 82B wire rod at $570/mt. In Malaysia, downstream procurement remained cautious, and the HRC market continued to move sideways. Overall, high inventories, weak off-season demand, and competition from low-priced imports are expected to continue to put pressure on prices of finished and semi-finished steel products in Southeast Asia. Russian Export Transactions Weaken Last week, Russian HRC export transactions were extremely limited. As domestic demand was moderate, most steel mills had withdrawn from overseas markets. Over the past two weeks, an unsanctioned mill lowered its export price by $10–20/mt to $510–520/mt FOB Black Sea, and after selling a small volume of August-delivery cargoes at $525/mt, it closed its order book due to domestic buying sprees and the weakening Turkish market. Another sanctioned mill, after lowering its price by $5–7/mt, offered September-shipment HRC at $555/mt FOB to Iran/CIS, with the current sales round expected to wrap up soon and no further Black Sea offers planned. 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