Analysis
June 25, 2024
Written by Michael Cowden
US sheet prices continue to fall, with SMU’s average hot-rolled (HR) coil price now at $670 per short ton (st). Prices for cold-rolled and coated products are now in the mid/high $900s/st.
As I noted in my last Final thoughts, the consensus among our readers is that prices will bottom out in July. And that makes intuitive sense. Lead times in mid/late July should be stretching into the typically busier fall months.
This October, SMU is introducing a new way to keep you informed on the latest steel market news and insights: the Daily Digest. Beginning in mid-October, our new Daily Digest will replace the three newsletters currently delivered each week.
Steel mill lead times continued to expand for sheet and plate products this week, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.
The overall mill negotiation rate ticked up slightly this week, but the overwhelming majority of buyers are still finding mills inflexible on price, according to our latest survey data.
The October market for domestic ferrous scrap is viewed with optimism mainly by participants on the selling side
The Commerce Department has made its preliminary findings in the anti-dumping portion of the trade case investigating large-diameter graphite electrodes (LDGE) from China and India. The agency found that LDGEs from both countries are being, or are likely to be, sold in the US at less-than-fair-value.