The most commonly reported spot price transaction range for US domestic hot dipped galvanized (HDG) and Galvalume has slipped by approximately $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) since our last report a week ago, bringing the current average transaction range to $40.50-$41.50 cwt. ($893-$915/mt or $810-$830/nt), ex-Midwest mill. Although the bulk of transactions are taking place at the midpoint, sources note, deals toward the lower end of the above stated range are said to be available to buyers who are looking to book significant tons.
Buyer sources say the current slip has a number of order-placers wary about the market, because “no one wants to get left holding the bag if [spot market prices] take a tumble. Inventories are right-sized and at this point, people can’t exactly hold off on buying steel, but no one is rushing to stock up. There’s a lot of cautious buying combined with a lot of wait-and-see,” one Texas-based source said.
Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
US domestic HDG base price | $40.50-$41.50 | $893-$915 | $810-$830 | down $0.50 cwt. |
0.012”x40.875” G30 | ||||
ex-Midwest mill | $49-$50 | $1080-$1102 | $980-$1000 | down $0.50 cwt. |
0.019”x48” G90 | ||||
ex-Midwest mill | $48-$49 | $1058-$1080 | $960-$980 | down $0.50 cwt. |
US domestic Galvalume base price | ||||
ex-Midwest mill | $40-$41 | $882-$904 | $800-$820 | down $0.50 cwt. |
0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | ||||
ex-Midwest mill | $49-$50 | $1080-$1102 | $980-$1000 | down $0.50 cwt. |