The share price of US Steel (X) has fallen in the past few weeks. US Steel has lost almost 20% of its market capitalization in the past month. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index was up 1% during this period.

What we’ll cover in this series

In this series, we’ll cover the various factors that are behind the fall in share price of US Steel. We’ll also compare its performance to other listed steel plays. We’ll discuss why crude oil prices are a key driver for US Steel and analyze how investors can play US Steel after the fall in its share price. US Steel had a decent year until recently

US Steel’s share price had given a year-to-date (or YTD) return of around 30% up until the end of October, as the previous chart shows. However, after the current fall in share price, its YTD returns have headed into negative territory.

US Steel is not the only steel play to deliver negative YTD returns. ArcelorMittal (MT) and AK Steel (AKS) have fallen close to 35% since the start of this year. ArcelorMittal has posted  disappointing results for several quarters now.

Steel Dynamics (STLD) is up 15% over this period. The company has been among the best performing steel plays.

Steel demand in the US is still strong. But why have share prices of steel plays fallen? And more importantly, why has US Steel fallen by almost 20% in the past one month? We’ll find out in the next part of our series.

紧固件展-2015第十六届广州国际紧固件及设备展览会-巨浪展览-The 16th China(Guangzhou)Int’l Fastener & Equipment Exhibition