[SMM Iron & Steel] Mesabi Metallics Secures $520 Million for Minnesota Iron Ore Project

This week, Lecong hot-rolled coil inventory stood at 960,400 mt, down 47,300 mt WoW, a decline of 4.69%; up 3.93% YoY on a calendar basis and down 6.42% YoY on a lunar calendar basis.

The World Steel Association reported on March 25, 2026, that while global crude steel production fell by 2.2% in February, India’s production surged by 7.7% year-on-year to reach 13.6 million tonnes. This growth is driven by the government's aggressive infrastructure spending and the "Make in India" initiative, which has bolstered domestic steel consumption. The increase in Indian output helps offset production declines in Russia and South America, as the country moves toward its national goal of 300 million tonnes of annual capacity by 2030.

The European Commission (EC) officially launched an investigation on March 30, 2026, into imports of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) from several non-EU countries. GOES is a critical high-value component used in the manufacturing of power transformers and electrical equipment essential for the continent's energy transition. The investigation aims to determine whether imported products are being sold at unfairly low prices that damage European domestic producers and follows a broader trend of increased trade defense measures as the EU implements the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) this year.