The Singapore Straits Times is reporting that the Chinese government has told banks to slow down loans to steelmakers. All of this points to perhaps a bit less of a China pop for U.S. steelmakers such as Nucor (NYS: NUE) and U.S. Steel (NYS: X) but, more importantly, it could mean lower prices at the annual negotiations for the major iron ore suppliers such as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (NYS: VALE) and BHP Billiton (NYS: BHP). This could also be posturing to try to talk down ore suppliers in the annual negotiations but keep a weather eye out for more governmental disturbances in China on this topic. Piqqem Sentiment for U.S. Steel Corp. is down 6% in the past week, perhaps mirroring these concerns.
Alex Salkever is Director of Research at Piqqem.com, a stock prediction community powered by the Wisdom of Crowds.
Entrepreneur's Journal: Putting together a solid sales contract
The week in preview: Earnings from Walmart, Macy's, and other retailers
Six top trades for the rest of 2009
