Tag: prices

Earlier this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to imports and evolving market chatter.

The chatter about the June ferrous scrap market has been noticeably muted as we come off the Memorial Day weekend.

Sheet prices slipped again this week on a combination of moderate demand, increased imports, and higher import volumes.

Let's take a collective deep breath ::in:: and ::out::... And we're back. But where exactly are we? Are steel prices going up or down? Is demand really decelerating or is it an illusion? How is the market navigating the new mill pricing mechanisms?

Prices for galvanized products have fallen from last month, and many market participants expect tags to continue their descent or at best remain flat in the month ahead.

Nucor moved its published consumer spot price (CSP) up again this week.

The Biden administration recently announced tariffs on several products from China, including steel and aluminum. There has been much rejoicing over this move and there has been a great deal of support from the steel industry. 

Nucor’s Consumer Spot Price (CSP), a legitimate mill offer price, is a potential disruptor to North American steel sheet commercial and procurement strategies. We will dive into the details of what we think the CSP is and why we believe it is a potential disruption to how the North American sheet market operates.

Steelmaking raw material prices have moved in different directions over the past month, according to SMU’s latest analysis.

In conjunction with President Biden’s visit to Vietnam in September 2023, Vietnam’s government petitioned the US Department of Commerce (DOC) for “market economy” treatment. This would be a major trade concession, as DOC has recognized for years that Vietnam’s economy does not operate according to market principles. However, graduating Vietnam to market economy status would […]

Steel Market Update’s Steel Demand Index fell five points to a 12-month low and moving further into contraction territory, according to our latest survey data.

Here’s something I didn’t expect to see this week: SMU’s Current Buyers’ Sentiment Index dropped to its lowest point since August 2020.

Offshore cold-rolled (CR) coil prices remain a cheaper option over domestic product, even as US CR coil prices tick lower, according to SMU’s latest check of the market.

Hot rolled buyers found mills less willing to negotiate spot pricing this week, while other products SMU tracks were mixed, according to our most recent survey data.

US hot-rolled (HR) coil prices declined again and now stand nearly even with offshore hot band on a landed basis.

Sideways and range-bound describes the US steel derivatives market over the past week, though the monthly picture shows a more notable decline in front-end flat prices. Week-over-week saw the June futures contract firm slightly, from $770 per short ton (st) to $780/st as of Thursday, May 23’s provisional close. However, the contract was down by […]

Lead times on most steel products tracked by SMU held steady or contracted this week compared to two weeks earlier, according to our latest market survey.

Cleveland-Cliffs is seeking at least $800 per short ton (st) for hot-rolled (HR) coil with the opening of its July order book. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the move was effective immediately in a letter to customers on Thursday, May 23. Recall that Cliffs announced in April that it would publish a monthly HR price. The […]

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices both plummeted over 10 points this week, both hitting lows for 2024, according to our most recent survey data.

Steel prices eased for both sheet and plate products this week, according to our latest canvass of the market

Big River Steel (BRS) made upward revisions to most of its galvanized coating extras this week, with new extras going into effect July 6.

The CRU US Midwest hot-rolled (HR) coil index is a dominant and established price benchmark in the US. Many steel-buying contracts are linked to ‘the CRU,’ as it’s commonly called. But how does it work?

Nucor upped its published consumer spot price (CSP) this week.

The free market operates best when it is freest. But all governments intervene in markets in response to conditions that threaten peaceful progress. President Biden decided last week that market intervention was justified. He approved a report from the US Trade Representative (USTR) that recommended continuing the “Section 301” tariffs on Chinese imports into the United States.

President Biden announced an increase in tariffs this week on Chinese EVs, semiconductors, batteries, solar cells, steel, and aluminum.

The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices narrowed this month, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

Roughly halfway through Q2, flatbed rates are holding firm, currently showing no change from April to May and a slight increase quarter-over-quarter (q/q).

The recent decline in US hot-rolled (HR) coil and longs prices has further restricted demand for imported material. Despite the decline in US sheet prices, CR coil and HDG imports remain attractive. While demand for imports of longs products has been limited, buyers have increased imports of wire products to avoid wire rods’ higher tariffs. […]

Earlier this month, steelmakers entered the scrap market at mixed pricing. The prevailing price for obsolescent grades fell $20 per gross ton (gt). However, some notable districts decided to only drop $10/gt.

The last time we were together on April 18, the June hot-rolled coil (HRC) future was sitting around the $800 support level where the May future found a bottom in mid-February.