Futures
Hot Rolled Futures Stabilize…
Written by Bradley Clark
March 6, 2014
The futures market stabilized this week as renewed buying interest has returned. It seems that the recent spot weakness is being shrugged off by most market participants as buyers are looking down the curve to add length. Recent history has shown us that waiting for the physical market to bottom is too late to pick up cheap offers, by the time the market turns seller will have run for the hills.
March has traded at $628, Q2 at $625 and Q3 and Q4 at $627 this week in decent volumes. It appears that the floor for now has been solidly established at $625 for deferred periods.
Not much more to add, the decent in price in the spot market feels to be slowing and time will tell if momentum to the downside picks up in the coming weeks, or the rumors of impending price hikes will come to fruition and turn the tide.
{amchart id=”73″ HRC Futures Forward Curve}
U.S. Midwest #1 Busheling Ferrous Scrap (AMM) Prices Look to Soften Further
The busheling market is beginning to take shape this week with prices down around $20 per ton. Talk of weather concerns, healthy inventories and lack of an export market have conspired to create a very sloppy market this month. With finished steel prices softening and demand remaining stable there is little impetus for mills to pay up for prime scrap. With that said, the market will have had two consecutive months of healthy fall in prices, a bounce may be in the cards for next month.
Again, there have been no reported trades this past week.
{amchart id=”74″ BUS Futures Forward Curve}
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Bradley Clark
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