SMU HR Price MoMo Index Changes Pace

MoMo was measured at -11.81 percent this week, meaning that the current HRC price is lower than the average price over the last 12 weeks.

The change in MoMo can be a useful indicator in depicting the severity of price movements and evaluating the directional trend for flat rolled steel prices. The week-over-week change in MoMo was +1.89 percent, following a change of -1.72 percent last week. This indicates that the downward movement previously seen in hot rolled price momentum has turned positive compared to the previous week. Note that the SMU HRC price was revised on Friday of last week, therefore revising the MoMo Index we published in last Thursday’s issue.

To get a wider sense of the change in the MoMo Index and eliminate weekly fluctuations, we calculate a 3-week average change. The 3-week average change in the MoMo Index is +0.01 percent, following a change of -0.69 percent the week before. This shows that the downward movement previously seen in hot rolled price momentum has ceased. Readers should note that this is the first positive 3-week average change since May 2016 (22 weeks).

The graph below demonstrates the relationship between the SMU hot rolled coil price, the SMU Price MoMo Index, and the three week moving average change in the MoMo Index. Click here to view and interact with it on our website. As published in our Tuesday evening newsletter, the latest SMU HRC price range is $440-$500 per ton with an average price of $470, unchanged from our Friday price adjustment and down $15 over our price from Tuesday the 18th.