Actually steel prices are indexed by region for domestically produced metal. There is a global average, but prices vary widely for domestically produced metal. North American, Europe, India, Mexico, Asia all have their own pricing structures.
Steel that must be sent here from China or India obviously have higher transportation costs than metal shipped from Canada or produced in the US. Commodity prices do not reflect transportation or distribution costs.
Same with most commodities, when you invest in a commodity you will be doing so on a particular exchange located in the region you are investing. But of course global prices do impact domestic prices as does changing production numbers.
The dramatic rise in US steel prices has taken place mostly in the last 8 months, the tariffs were put in place in 2018. The current rise in price is attributed to decreased production during Covid shutdowns combined with increased demand due to increased demand for consumer goods during Covid.
So far the US steel industry is encouraging Biden to keep the tariffs in place .. not sure if that's a good sign or not.
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