Steel Products Prices North America
Comparison Price Indices: Stable (for now)
Written by John Packard
June 7, 2015
Flat rolled steel prices have stabilized over the past couple of weeks, according to our analysis of the various steel indexes we follow on a regular basis.
The expectation is with the increase in scrap prices and the filing of the anti-dumping suit against China, South Korea, India, Taiwan and Italy will bring a new round of price increases, whether announced or verbal.
Benchmark hot rolled coil (HRC) has been bouncing around the $460 per ton level for the past few weeks. Both CRU and SMU have seen their numbers moving a few dollars one way or another which just shows that the last couple of weeks have been stable as the market waited to see what the next price catalyst would be.
The three reporting indexes agreed on where they felt cold rolled prices are as of last week with SMU and Platts at $580 per ton and CRU close behind at $578 per ton.
Galvanized .060″ G90 saw CRU coming down $10 per ton last week and the two indexes (CRU and SMU) are now within $6 per ton of one another.
Galvalume was down $5 and CRU saw plate as being down $9 per ton.
FOB Points for each index:
SMU: Domestic Mill, East of the Rockies.
CRU: Midwest Mill, East of the Rockies.
SteelBenchmarker: Domestic Mill, East of the Mississippi.
Platts: Northern Indiana Domestic Mill.
Note that SteelBenchmarker produces numbers twice per month. On the weeks they produce numbers we will include them in the average. The weeks where they do not produce numbers (NA = not available) we will not include their outdated numbers in the CPI average.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
Thin demand keeps plate prices hovering at lowest levels since February
Participants in the domestic plate market say spot prices appear to have hit the floor, and they continue to linger there. They say demand for steel remains thin, with plate products no exception.
SMU Price Ranges: HR crawls back to $800/ton
SMU’s HR price stands at $800/st on average, up $5/st from last week. The modest gain came as the low end of our range firmed, and despite the high end of our range declining slightly.
SMU successfully completes IOSCO review
SMU has successfully completed an external review of all our prices. The review has concluded that they algin with principles set by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
Domestic plate prices could heat up despite so-so demand, market sources say
Some sources also speculated that plate could see further price increases thanks to modest but steady demand, lower imports, mill maintenance outages, and end markets less immediately affected by tariff-related disruptions.
SMU Price Ranges: HR holds, galv slips amid competing market narratives
SMU’s sheet and plate prices see-sawed this week as hot-rolled (HR) coil prices held their ground while prices for galvanized product slipped.