Showing posts with label STEEL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label STEEL. Show all posts

Wednesday 4 November 2009

Chinese steel market to face uncertainties till 2009 end

Chinese steel market to face uncertainties till 2009 end
Updated: 2009-11-02 11:36:22

  The high inventories and the imbalance between supply and demand have affected market players’ confidence to Chinese steel market. But the rebound in the middle of October is given a positive impression to players, though it just remains a short time, especially the increase of HR price.
  
  Chinese steel market situation has witnessed lot of uncertainties and ups and downs in the last two months of 2009 due to following factors
  
  1. High level of production
  According to the data of National Bureau of Statistics, total volume of plate is 231 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2009 up by 5.4%YoY. HRC and medium strip occupy 119 million tonnes up by 11.5% YoY. In other words, due to high rate of increase, the imbalance between supply and demand has surfaced clearly.
  
  To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of http://www.steelprices-china.com/ by registering or send a mail to admin@steelprices-china.com with contact details.
  
  (Sourced from http://www.steelprices-china.com/)
  

Monday 15 June 2009

CRB Index

While you can choose your own selection of commodities, it is probably easier to use an existing index. The most watched indicator index is known as the CRB index.

Future and options on the CRB index are traded on the New York Board of Trade. It is made up of different categories of commodities:



  • Energy: crude oil, heating oil, natural gas
  • Grains: corn, soybean, wheat
  • Industrials: cotton, copper
  • Livestock: cattle, hogs
  • Precious metals: gold, platinum, silver
  • Softs: cocoa, coffee, orange juice, sugar

Because it covers such a diverse range of materials, its movements will mask moves in the individual components, and smooth out the supply problems. Obviously, there are many other commodities which are not included int he CRB index.


Alternative methods

As an alternative to trading an index on an exchange, there are a number of different ways to trade commodities - apart from keeping silos full of corn in your backyard.
  • You can also invest in companies, such as steel companies or oil companies, which you feel will benefit from higher prices of their products.
  • Or you can even go a step bigger, and buy into the currencies of countries which have a lot of natural resources.


Related posts:
Buying commodities. When?
Trade in a basket of commodities
CRB Index
Long periods of high growth and high inflation are rare
The recent commodity story has been all about China
Warning: Watch out for US dollar exposure in commodities trading