📡 2026.6.24 Northeast Asia Steel Weekly – Free Sample Preview

Report Period: June 17–24, 2026
Cover: South Korea | Japan

Week-on-Week Comparison Included: June 10–17 vs. June 17–24

This free sample offers a curated look at this week’s most market‑moving events and data. Subscribers receive the full report, including complete price tables for all eight steel products, the expanded anti‑dumping alternative‑sourcing matrix with specification details, landed‑cost sensitivity reference, a comprehensive week‑on‑week deep dive, and the enhanced market structure section — everything you need to navigate the permanently reshaped trade architecture.

📌 Sample Core Insights

📌 Korea HRC AD Final Duties Formally Enacted — ⚠️
The Ministry of Economy and Finance formally promulgated the final five‑year anti‑dumping regulations on June 23, 2026. Duties of 28.16–33.43% on carbon and alloy steel HRC from Japan and China are now permanent law. Nine exporters (6 Chinese, 3 Japanese) retain duty‑free access under price undertakings. All other suppliers face the permanent barrier. [MOEF, June 23]

📌 POSCO Gwangyang 2.5Mt EAF Completed — 🏭
POSCO officially completed South Korea’s largest electric arc furnace on June 17. The facility has annual capacity of 2.5 million tonnes and reduces carbon emissions by up to 75% versus blast furnaces. The KRW 600 billion investment will add approximately 2 million tpy of scrap demand to the regional market and structurally reduce POSCO’s reliance on imported billet. [POSCO, June 17]

📌 China Export Prices Continue Gradual Decline — ▼
HRC SS400 slipped to $492–501/t FOB**, down **$3/t week‑on‑week. Billet bore the largest decline, falling $4–5/t** to **$465–468/t FOB — the lowest since mid‑April — as seasonal demand weakness, the approaching return of Iranian supply, and competitive pressure from Indonesian and Indian exporters weighed on sentiment. [SMM, BigMint, June 22–23]

📌 Iran Resumes Semi‑Finished Exports — ✅
Iran’s temporary export restrictions on slabs and flat steel expired on May 30 without extension. Several Iranian mills resumed semi‑finished steel sales in the week to June 19, adding new supply to Asian billet and slab markets. War risk premiums and freight rates are expected to ease as Iranian material returns. [Multiple sources, mid‑June]

📌 Iron Ore Falls Below $100/t — ▼**
The 62% Fe CFR China benchmark dropped to approximately **$98.5/t, its lowest level in weeks. The decline reduces the cost floor for Chinese mills and provides headroom for further FOB price softness, though coke producers implemented their eighth consecutive price increase of RMB 50/t, partially offsetting the iron ore decline. [Mysteel, June 23]

💰 Sample Price & Change Comparison (Partial View)

Subscribers receive complete tables for all eight products across China, Korea, and Japan, with precise weekly, monthly, and yearly changes.

🛡️ Sample Policy & Supply Chain Update

The Trade Architecture Is Now Permanent

The formal enactment of Korea’s five‑year HRC anti‑dumping duties on June 23 removes the last vestiges of temporary uncertainty. The two‑tier market is now structurally locked in: nine approved exporters — including Baosteel, Bengang, JFE, and Nippon Steel — have duty‑free access through quarterly‑adjusted price undertakings, while all other suppliers face permanent duties of 28.16–33.43%. The coated CRC provisional duties, effective since June 12, add a second layer of protection for Korean domestic mills. Together, these barriers have fundamentally decoupled Korean domestic HRC pricing from Chinese export price trends.

POSCO’s EAF Reshapes Regional Raw Material Flows

The completion of the Gwangyang electric arc furnace is not merely an incremental capacity addition. It is a structural transformation of Korea’s steel production model. The facility will consume approximately 2 million tonnes of scrap annually, tightening domestic scrap supply and reducing POSCO’s need for imported billet and HBI. Scrap suppliers to Korea face a sustained demand increase; billet exporters to Korea face a structural demand decline. The report’s raw‑material substitution tracker quantifies this shift and monitors the evolving scrap‑billet cost spread.

Iranian Supply Returns to Asian Markets

After months of forced absence, Iranian semi‑finished steel is flowing again. Several mills resumed sales in mid‑June, and the additional supply is already pressuring Asian billet and slab prices. Combined with competitive offers from Indonesia and India, the semi‑finished market is becoming increasingly crowded. Chinese billet exporters face the most direct competitive threat.

💡 Sample Actionable Advice (Preview)

The full report contains six tailored action items for each audience, with specific rationales, target markets, and implementation timelines.

📥 Get the Full Report

This free sample is only a fraction of the intelligence delivered each week. Subscribers to the Northeast Asia Steel Weekly Report receive:

• 8 product price tables (billet, rebar, HRC, CRC, HDG, carbon steel pipe, stainless steel, CRGO) with FOB, domestic, and import parity data for China, Korea, and Japan.
• Week‑on‑week and month‑on‑month comparisons to track market direction with precision.
• Import viability assessments with landed cost calculations under Korea’s price undertaking mechanism vs. final AD duties — and Japan’s new AD investigations.
• Critical Dates & Deadlines calendar — a centralized timeline of all upcoming policy, trade, and production events.
• AD Alternative‑Sourcing Matrix — which products are blocked, which remain duty‑free, and exactly which mills can supply which grades under which standards.
• Landed‑Cost Sensitivity Reference — how FOB, freight, FX, and war risk premium moves impact your all‑in cost.
• Raw‑Material Substitution Tracker — the scrap‑billet cost spread, POSCO EAF ramp‑up impact, and Kanto tender trends.
• Market structure deep dive by product: market size, growth drivers, local competitiveness, import dependency, and competitive positioning.
• Forward‑looking price forecast for the coming week with three supporting arguments and one key downside risk.
• Full week‑on‑week deep dive analysis across seven dimensions: price trends, policy, FX, logistics, sentiment, new data, and overall trajectory.

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Contact Amy directly at amy@amyinsights.com