The market appears to be pausing after a turbulent run. But tension remains just beneath the surface. With net long positioning still elevated, sentiment-driven selling could quickly reignite volatility. Still, supply constraints and limited imports are laying the groundwork for a resilient physical market. This moment of calm feels more like a crossroads than a conclusion.
It’s been a little over a year since our last Community Chat with Flack Global Metals (FGM) founder and CEO Jeremy Flack. Though he described the current steel market as “boring” and “not so much fun,” it’s been an exciting year for the company, and there was no shortage of topics to discuss.
Flack Global Metals (FGM) has closed on its majority ownership stake in Pacesetter Steel Service.
Flack Global Metals (FGM) Founder and CEO Jeremy Flack will sit down with SMU for a Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 11 am ET. The live webinar is free for anyone to attend. A recording will be available only to SMU subscribers.
Flack Global Metals (FGM) Founder and CEO Jeremy Flack will sit down with SMU for a Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 11 am ET. The live webinar is free for anyone to attend. A recording will be available only to SMU subscribers.
Nearly 1,200 people have registered for SMU Steel Summit, which is less than a month away now. That means we’re still on pace to meet or exceed last year’s record attendance despite a tough flat-rolled steel market over the last few months. So, a big thank you to everyone who already plans to go for your continued support. If you haven’t booked travel yet, don’t miss out on one of the greatest shows in steel – register here. (You can also check out the latest agenda here.)
Summer is here, and a familiar sentiment has hit the hot-rolled coil (HRC) futures market. Prices continue to decline in both the spot market and the futures market, with expectations of sub-$800 prices for the remainder of the year.
For the first time in weeks, activity in the futures market broke out of the recent “front grinds lower” pattern to provide new insight into the dynamics of the steel industry.
Flack Global Metals (FGM) is set to take majority ownership of Pacesetter Steel Service.
Week over week, the futures curve saw minimal change.
“One thing we know for certain, however, is that when we write our next column, things will have certainly shaken loose.” – Daniel Doderer, April 4, 2024. Above is a good reminder that whenever someone is “certain” of anything, you should probably look at that line of thinking with a healthy dose of skepticism.
It has been six weeks since Flack Global Metals wrote our last SMU column, and if you simply look at the futures curve from then (blue) until now (white), you could argue that very little has changed.
What a difference a few weeks make…. As this is our first column after the new year, it is quite interesting to observe how different the steel world looks at the end of January vs. the end of December.
We started 2023 with HRC spot pricing around $700 per ton and the third-month future (March ‘23) trading at $800/ton. That same future eventually settled at $1,059/ton - a $259/ton swing. Today, spot pricing is just shy of $1,100/ton for HRC, and the third-month future (March ‘24) settled at $1,091/ton. The clear takeaway: a lot can change over three months. And while future contracts are a valuable tool for hedging, they are a terrible predictor of price.
Well, what a difference a month makes…
The 2023 NexGen Award winner Daniel Doderer may not consider himself a veteran of the steel industry yet, but he's eager to make his mark.