There's no question that US domestic coated flat steel spot prices are weakening, but the rate of decline has been varied depending on the product. Many sources agree that the downside risk to buying flat rolled coil at current spot prices is minimal as margins are already extremely thin at the mills, and a turnaround could soon be near--especially considering stable demand levels and declining service center inventories. Nonetheless, hot dipped galvanized (HDG) and Galvalume spot prices have inched down again since last week, following relatively stable prices throughout most of May.
Domestic HDG and Galvalume coil spot prices have come down by about $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) since last week and base prices for both products are now between $32.00-$33.00 cwt. ($705-$728/mt or $640-$660/nt) ex-Midwest mill. However, while there appear to be plenty of deals for even average-sized buyers on the low end of current HDG coil prices, Galvalume coil has been selling at a slight premium, with the majority of activity taking place on the high end of the current price levels. The market for Galvalume is smaller, according to sources, and there is less availability as compared to HDG.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week |
|
| US domestic HDG base price | $32.00-$33.00 | $705-$728 | $640-$660 | ↓ $0.50 cwt. |
| 0.012"x40.875" G30 |
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| ex-Midwest mill |
$42.50-$43.50 | $937-$959 | $850-$870 | ↓ $0.50 cwt. |
| 0.019"x48" G90 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill |
$42.50-$43.50 | $937-$959 | $850-$870 | ↓ $0.50 cwt. |
| US domestic Galvalume base price | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill |
$32.00-$33.00 | $705-$728 | $640-$660 | ↓ $0.50 cwt. |
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 |
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| ex-Midwest mill |
$42.50-$43.50 | $937-$959 | $850-$870 | ↓ $0.50 cwt. |