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Latest news
BREAKING NEWS: Cliffs to introduce a monthly HR spot price today
Cleveland-Cliffs plans to publish a monthly spot price for hot-rolled (HR) coil beginning today, April 26. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said in a press release on Friday that its published HR coil price will coincide with the opening of its monthly order book. The move follows Nucor’s recently adopted weekly spot HR coil price and comes […]
SMU survey: HR, plate lead times slip as CR extends
Hot-rolled coil and plate lead times contracted this week, with most other products remaining flat, according to SMU’s most recent survey data.
Cold-rolled products, however, saw lead times extend 0.1 weeks to an average of 7.5 weeks vs. two weeks earlier. Hot rolled and plate lead times both contracted 0.3 weeks from our last market check.
HR futures: Activity muted amid quiet spot market
Week-over-week trading activity in US steel derivatives markets was relatively muted, with prices maintaining their downward direction since the beginning of the month.
Bids have materialized at the lower end of this range in the May, as the nearby backwardation continues to roll on – just as we saw with April being a premium over May.
Final thoughts
I’ve gotten some questions lately about whether the huge gap between domestic hot-rolled coil (HR) prices and those for cold-rolled (CR) and coated is sustainable.
I remember being asked similar questions about the wide spread between HR and plate that developed in early 2022. I thought at the time that there was no way that spread could hold.
Turned out, I was wrong. That was humbling. And so I’m not going to make any bold predictions this time.
Reliance earnings fall 21% in tough pricing environment
Reliance Inc.’s earnings slumped in the first quarter of 2024, but the company expects better than normal seasonal recovery in demand in the second quarter.
SMU survey: Sheet buyers find mills more willing to negotiate spot prices
Sheet steel buyers said mills are more willing to talk price on spot orders, according to our most recent survey data.
Ternium Mexico’s shipments slip but upturn expected
Destocking at service centers and a downturn in steel pricing impacted Ternium’s shipments in Mexico in the first quarter of the year.
Steel imports stabilized in March
Steel imports held steady in March, up just 1% from February according to preliminary Census data released earlier this week.
US HR premium dips even as stateside tags edge lower
US hot-rolled (HR) coil remains more expensive than offshore hot band, though with a tighter premium as prices stateside and abroad have ticked lower in recent weeks.
Algoma to conclude planned plate mill outage at month’s end
Algoma Steel Inc. expects to wrap up a previously announced outage on its plate mill by the end of this month, a company spokeswoman said.
The outage is part of the Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker’s $130 million CAD ($95 million USD) modernization project. It began in mid-April.
SDI execs detail April outage at Sinton, address ‘robust’ HR-CR spread
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) executives said the company’s Sinton, Texas, sheet mill should be able to increase melt capacity after an outage earlier this month.
Sinton should see “additional improvements in production” after taking “several maintenance days in April,” Barry Schneider, SDI president and COO, said in a Q1 earnings conference call on Wednesday.
SSAB Americas Q1 results hit by lower plate prices, demand
Lower demand and prices for steel plate impacted SSAB Americas’ results in the first quarter, Swedish parent company SSAB said in its Q1’24 interim report.
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Pricing
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Chart steel and scrap prices against key indicators with our Interactive Pricing Tool.
wdt_ID | Product | Low | Avg | High |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | HR | 785 | 815 | 845 |
2 | CR | 1,100 | 1,130 | 1,160 |
5 | GI | 1,100 | 1,130 | 1,160 |
6 | AZ | 1,080 | 1,110 | 1,140 |
7 | PL | 1,160 | 1,225 | 1,290 |