Steel Prices Are Rising: What This Means for Consumers

While steel prices vary from country to country, rising input costs are generally driving prices of steel upwards.

Rising input costs means it is more expensive to produce steel than in previous years due to global increases in prices of iron ore and hard coking coal. This leads to higher prices on steel products.

In fact, according to MetalMiner, base prices for stainless steel increased by 300% between January and July 2016. Just a few days ago, Livemint reported that in India, steel output has seen double-digit growth rates throughout the fall of this year. Because of rising consumption in the area, domestic steel prices in India have been increasing.

“Higher output and higher prices are two factors that should benefit Indian steel companies considerably,” wrote Livemint’s Ravi Ananthanarayanan in the article.

Also this fall, Australia and China have been debating about the issue of China dumping steel in Australia. Many businesses in Australia have argued that China’s undercutting of steel prices violate international agreements established by the World Trade Organization. Anti-dumping tariffs are designed to alleviate this situation, which is detrimental to local markets, but these tariffs also mean higher prices for consumers.

As Tim Harcourt wrote for Australia’s The Conversation last month, “While consumers may enjoy cheaper products, local industry may argue that the imports are being used to drive them out of business, and get monopoly power.”

For consumers, these increases in price mean that it’s a good idea to purchase goods that utilize steel sooner rather than later. Consumer goods that commonly use steel include:

·         Stainless steel refrigerators, stoves, ovens and other appliances

·         Steel garages and sheds

·         Automotive parts like exhaust pipes and grilles

·         Surgical tools like forceps and scalpels

Construction parts like air ducts, elevators and roof cladding