SMU Data and Models
April 2015 Steel Data at a Glance
Written by John Packard
April 30, 2015
Today is the final day of April and, as is our habit, we will review much of the critical data reviewed or created during the month.
SMU Price Momentum Indicator remained at Neutral where it had been for the entire month. SMU has been forecasting a change in the momentum pushing prices from lower to either sideways or higher. Now that the domestic mills have announced price increases we will watch if the flow of orders improves and if it will result in higher prices from here.
SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Indexes, both current and future, remained entrenched in the optimistic range of our Index. However, as you can see from the table below, both indexes and our 3 month moving average have been slipping over the past three months. The movement isn’t enough to cause concern, at least not yet.
Hot rolled prices averaged $449 per ton for the month. However, looking at the four weekly price averages the movement in pricing was modest at $15 per ton. The CRU averaged $448 per ton while Platts tied SMU at $449.
Zinc prices rose over the course of the month ending up at $1.0441 per pound. Aluminum rose as well and finished the month at $0.8271 per pound.
Iron ore is up in China ending the month at $57.8 per dry metric ton (62% Fe fines in China).
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in SMU Data and Models
SMU Survey: Mill lead times remain stable and short
Steel buyers participating in our market survey this week reported stable mill lead times for both sheet and plate steel products.
SMU Survey: Most buyers report mills still willing to talk price
Most steel buyers SMU polled this week reported that mills remain willing to negotiate new order pricing.
October service center shipments and inventories report
Flat rolled = 63.4 shipping days of supply Plate = 52.4 shipping days of supply Flat rolled shipments and inventories Flat-rolled steel supply at US service centers remains seasonally high. October inventories increased after edging lower in September – a dynamic driven largely by disappointing demand. October’s report reflects lower demand and stable lead times […]
Apparent steel supply slips to 7-month low in September
The total amount of finished steel to enter the US market in September fell to its lowest level in seven months, according to our analysis of recent Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data
SMU market survey results now available
SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]