Tag: prices

SMU's Current Steel Buyers Sentiment Index edged down this week while the future index remained flat, based on our most recent survey data.

The sheet market appears poised for a rebound if you’re looking at the indicators we typically track.

With solid demand and attractive margins, the North American market has been helping to prop up CMC’s results as its European operations struggle with weaker demand amid challenging market conditions.

The mill negotiation rate for all products SMU looks at fell this week, with hot rolled dropping 13 percentage points, according to our most recent survey data.

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) and offshore product are nearly back even again after domestic prices moved higher for the second straight week.

If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that nothing is certain.

Sheet prices remain on an upward trend. Many of you expect that to remain the case - assuming that the UAW strike doesn’t drag on much longer.

Sheet prices moved upward for the second week in a row despite the ongoing UAW strike and concerns in some corners that momentum from a price hike last month might be fading, market participants said.

The US and European Union will continue trade talks on Friday, Oct. 20, according to a statement from the European Council.

A service center executive recently told me that the best way to make a fool of yourself was to try to predict what flat-rolled steel prices were going to do. He hadn’t expected that hot-rolled coil prices would rebound from less than $600 per ton ($30 per cwt) for some larger buyers to potentially more […]

The LME aluminum three-month price was broadly unchanged on Friday morning, Oct. 6, and was last seen trading at $2,243 per ton. Due to the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day celebrations, the SHFE is closed for holidays from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6. According to a report from Bloomberg, leaders from the EU and the […]

A large Detroit-area scrap buyer has settled scrap tags for October, with busheling scrap sideways, a source told SMU.

The US steel market appears to have gone from despairing over the possibility of spot HRC prices slipping into the $500s per ton to worrying about spot availability – and in just a matter of 2-3 weeks.

What has happened since the August hot rolled (HR) settlement ($767 per short ton)?

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) and offshore product are nearing parity again after domestic prices moved higher this week and imports declined again.

A recap of SMU's Oct. 4, 2023, Community Chat featuring AGC chief economist Ken Simonson and his outlook for the construction markets.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including steel prices, demand, inventories, imports, the UAW strike, and what people were talking about in the market.

Did the price increase announced by Cleveland-Cliffs last week stick? Yes, at least partially.

Sheet prices rose this week on the heels of a price increase announced by Cleveland-Cliffs last week that was quietly followed by other mills.

US manufacturing activity improved in September, nearing a recovery, but remained in contraction territory, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

Steel prices continued to decline last month – a trend we’ve seen repeated since mid-April.

Will the sheet price hike announced by Cleveland-Cliffs (and quietly followed by at least some mills) stick?

US plate prices have been relatively flat this year, especially when compared to sheet products. Case in point; SMU's plate prices stands at $1,455 per ton ($72.75 per cwt) on average, down 7% from a $1,560 per ton peak in April. Our HRC price is at $645 per ton, down 44% from an April peak of $1,160 per ton.

Algoma Steel Inc. plans to ramp up production at its modernized plate mill toward the end of the year. Operations Update The Canadian sheet and plate producer said it in the meantime continues hot commissioning at the upgraded facility and has begun cold commissioning as well. The company said it has also run trials through […]

The US scrap market for October is a bit unsettled as the UAW strike against the Big Three automotive companies has expanded and shows scant signs of an imminent settlement.

The LME aluminum 3-month price was up 4.7% during the last week of the month to close September trading at $2,325 per metric ton – its highest price since early August. Several correlations appeared to have broken down in the short term given the weakness in the US stock market, a weaker copper price, and, critically, the resurgent dollar.

SMU's weekly survey reflects what people in the market are talking about. Lately, a popular topic has been the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike.

Nucor Corp. will keep plate prices unchanged with the opening of its November order book.

I didn’t see the Cleveland-Cliffs price increase coming on Wednesday. And I didn’t expect to see a target base price of $750 per ton ($37.50 per cwt) for hot-rolled coil. But I’ve since heard that other mills, even if they hadn’t publicly announced anything, had been quietly raising prices before Cliffs publicized its increase. Are […]

On Sept. 15, the UAW went on strike at three plants, one of each of the Big 3. On Sept. 22, the UAW expanded its strike to 38 more GM and Stellantis plants. Since Sept. 15, the HRC futures curve has rallied $60-75 in the November – February futures months. The reason why there has been this breakneck rally is because, uh, well, um. I have no idea. I am as shocked by it as perhaps you are, frankly.