| Key European Indicators ArcelorMittal Investors Should Track | |
| | |
|
Steel Plays: Key Global Indicators Investors Should Track (Part 12 of 13) (Continued from Part 11) European indicators
We analyzed the Chinese economic indicators in the last part of this series. Now, we’ll analyze the key European indicators. ArcelorMittal (MT) gets almost half of its revenue from Europe. U.S. Steel Corp. (X) also has operations in Europe. These companies were hit by the slowdown in Europe. Earlier, we discussed that steel production in Europe came down in January.
Automobile sales
Automobile sales increased by 1.5% in 2014. In the latest reading in January, automobile sales increased by ~1.2% on a year-over-year, or YoY, basis. An increase in Europe’s automobile sales is positive for steel companies in that region. The Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK) gives you exposure to European equity markets.
Housing permits
The above chart shows the trends in the housing permit index. The index reached 79.7 in the latest reading in October 2014. This represents a YoY decline of ~1.5%. This was preceded by more than a 6% decline in September. Housing permits are a leading indicator for the residential construction industry. The trend in housing permits hasn’t been even. This can be verified from the above chart.
Housing permits dropped for two consecutive months. This is negative for steel companies in Europe.
The European steel industry is reeling under the impact of steel imports. A similar trend is visible in the US. As a percentage of apparent steel consumption, steel imports reached historic highs in recent months. This negatively impacted steel companies like Steel Dynamics (STLD) and Nucor (NUE).
In the next part of this series, we’ll discuss European indicators in more detail.
Continue to Part 13 Browse this series on Market Realist:
|
|
|
United States Steel Corporation
|
|
|
CODE : X |
ISIN : US9129091081 |
|
| |
ProfileMarket IndicatorsVALUE : Projects & res.Press releasesAnnual reportRISK : Asset profileContact Cpy |
United States Steel is a iron and tin producing company based in United states of america. United States Steel is listed in United States of America. Its market capitalisation is US$ 6.6 billions as of today (€ 6.2 billions). Its stock quote reached its lowest recent point on March 28, 2003 at US$ 10.01, and its highest recent level on November 30, 2007 at US$ 98.85. United States Steel has 176 184 431 shares outstanding. |