Tag: sentiment

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

Sheet prices were flat or moderately down again this week – underscoring the shift in momentum we’ve seen over the last month. The exception was hot-rolled (HR) coil, which was largely unchanged from last week.

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices both rose this week to reach some of the highest levels seen this year.

Galvanized buyers reported steady demand and ample supply this week as pricing momentum has shifted, potentially pointing down. Service centers, distributors, and manufacturers who are members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) association met virtually on Tuesday, April 23, for the monthly meeting of HARDI’s Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council. Sentiment was noticeably […]

Steel sheet prices in many regions of the world were steady week over week in the week ended April 17.

To the surprise of many — myself included — flat-rolled steel prices appear to be in a holding pattern… again. This is not familiar territory for hot-rolled (HR) coil, at least not over the past few years. Its pricing volatility (as my colleague Michael Cowden has noted in past columns) may rival the elastic moves […]

Metalformers expect economic activity to remain level over the next three months, according to the April Business Conditions Report from the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA).

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices both rose this week.

Steel prices continued to ease lower in early March – a trend seen since mid-January –  before showing signs of bottoming and inflecting up. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator for sheet products shifted from lower to neutral mid-way through the month after Nucor, Cleveland-Cliffs, and ArcelorMittal all targeted new base minimums between $825-840 per short […]

Nucor made waves in the sheet market when it announced on Friday that it would begin publishing a weekly hot-rolled (HR) coil price. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker arguably made even bigger waves on Monday when it posted its first weekly HR number: $830 per short ton. That’s $70/st lower than the $900/st HR price Cliffs announced in late March. It’s also lower than prices in the mid-$800s that other mills were (less publicly) seeking.

You might have noticed that SMU has been publishing more articles about scrap in recent months. That was no accident. In fact, we’ve found enough of an audience that CRU, our parent company, has decided to launch a new publication – Recycled Metals Update, or RMU. It cover both ferrous and nonferrous scrap. RMU’s website is here. You can go there now and request a 30-day free trial. It’s that simple.

SMU’s Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index fell further week, now at the lowest reading recorded since October 2022

Sheet and plate prices mostly moved lower this week after little change was noted the week prior. Despite edging down, sentiment is mixed, and many suggest a bottom may be near.

SMU’s Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index edged down while the Future Sentiment Index ticked up, according to our most recent survey data

To the surprise of few if any, prices are in a holding pattern – a trend not seen since late December. The pause comes largely in response to a pricing notice blitz from mills late last week.

Consumer confidence in the US declined in February after accelerating to a two-year high the month prior, The Conference Board reported. Results came in amid ongoing concerns regarding the US economy. The headline Consumer Confidence Index declined to 106.7 in February from a downwardly revised 110.9 in January. The index, which measures Americans’ assessment of […]

Steel prices continued to ease lower throughout February, following a loss of upwards momentum in the middle of January.

A clear consensus has emerged among respondents to SMU’s latest steel market survey that hot-rolled (HR) coil prices will bottom this month or in April. Seventy-five percent of respondents to our latest survey think that prices will find a floor before May as the chart below shows:

SMU’s Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index eased to an eight-week low, according to our most recent survey data.

The Mid-American ISRI Chapter held its annual meeting in St. Louis this month. Over the years, this event has become a “must attend” for the scrap community nationwide.

Steel Market Update’s Steel Demand Index has moved lower, having remained in contraction territory for the better part of the past two months, according to our latest survey data.

SMU’s Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index was flat this week, while the Future Sentiment Index slipped, according to our most recent survey data.

The LME 3-month price was broadly stable again on the morning of Feb. 16, and was last seen trading at $2,230 per metric ton (mt). On Feb. 16, LME stocks were reported at 534,925 mt, an increase of nearly 10,000 mt from last Friday. The change comes after 15,125 mt of metal was delivered into […]

Steel prices stabilized in early January before they began to inflect lower midway through last month. Tags peaked at $1,045 per short ton (st) during the first week of January, even as some mills tried to push prices higher, to no avail. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices ended January at an average of $1,000/st, declining by $45/st during the month.

Consumer confidence in the US rose in January and accelerated to a two-year high, The Conference Board reported. Results came amid slacking inflation and expectations that the Federal Reserve could soon start cutting interest rates. The headline Consumer Confidence Index rose to 114.8 in January from a downwardly revised 108.0 in December. The index, which […]

The US Midwest premium was flat week over week (w/w) at 18.8–19.4¢/lb. Again, the premium has exhibited remarkably low levels of volatility and has yet to react to news in the geopolitical or macroeconomic spaces.

SMU’s Current Steel Buyers Sentiment Index edged down this week, while the Future Sentiment Index remained flat, according to our most recent survey data.

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. 

This week Magnitude 7 Metals issued a statement to announce the curtailment of its New Madrid smelter in Marston, Mo. The plant, one of only five remaining primary smelters in the US, employs approximately 450 union workers. With over 275,000 metric tons (mt) of capacity per year, New Madrid is the second-largest plant by capacity […]

This latest SMU steel market survey is a snapshot of a sheet market inflecting lower. A significant 43% of survey respondents said that the hot-rolled (HR) coil market has already peaked. Compare that to only 8% when we released our last steel market survey on Jan. 5.