[SMM Steel] Indonesian Billet Prices Hold Steady at $478/ton, Sluggish Construction Demand & Residual Inventory Overhang

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced its final affirmative determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Algeria on September 15, 2026, with the order becoming applicable September 18. Since no comments were submitted on the earlier preliminary determination, Commerce adopted its preliminary findings for the final decision, which had set a subsidy rate of 73.33% for SPA Algerian Qatar Steel and all other Algerian producers and exporters. Because the U.S. Trade Representative has determined Algeria is not a "Subsidies Agreement country," no material injury determination from the U.S. International Trade Commission is required for this CVD case.

Australia's Queensland government has granted elevated "Prescribed Project" status to three proposed steel and recycling developments totaling over A$1.9 billion, facilitating coordination of approvals and infrastructure to strengthen domestic steel supply. Equest Steel plans to invest A$1.05 billion in the Alter Steel Mill, a scrap-based steel recycling and manufacturing facility on a 23-hectare site at Pinkenba, while Future Forgeworks' A$640 million Swanbank Steel Mill is intended to supply reinforcing steel locally from 2028. Sims is also proposing an approximately A$215 million staged redevelopment of its existing Pinkenba waterfront site into an integrated metal recycling, processing and logistics hub. Together, the projects are expected to support more than 2,000 construction jobs and over 550 operational positions, while reducing reliance on steel supplied from interstate and overseas.

The European Union formally enacted temporary safeguard measures on imported Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES) and downstream transformer cores. The regulation sets minimum in-quota import prices between €2,800 and €3,400 per tonne, while out-of-quota imports face a strict price floor of €3,500 per tonne, restricting foreign electrical steel supply volumes to protect European power grid equipment supply chains.