Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Nucor (NUE) (ZEUS) (STLD) (X) (SCHN) Drop as Commodities Correct

A general correction in commodities prices spurred by the plunge in oil prices pressured the steel sector as well, with Olympic Steel (Nasdaq:ZEUS), Steel Dynamics (Nasdaq:STLD), Nucor (NYSE:NUE) and Schnitzer Steel Industries (NASDAQ:SCHN) all closing down Tuesday.

Crude oil prices for May delivery were down as much as 63 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $105.62 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was at $106.01 at 10:14 a.m. Sydney time. Yesterday, it dropped $3.67 to $106.25. Prices fell 5.9 percent on April 11 and 12.

The U.S. raised its crude-oil price estimate for 2011 to an average $106.38 a barrel from $101.77 in March, according to the Energy Department’s Short-Term Energy Outlook.

Schnitzer Steel Industries closed Tuesday at $60.59, falling $0.76, or 1.24 percent. Nucor closed at $45.21, down $1.05, or 2.27 percent. Steel Dynamics closed at $18.21, dropping $0.21, or 1.14 percent. Olympic Steel ended the session at $50.52, declining $1.20, or 2.32 percent.

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