Traders “dipping toes back in the water” of US import HDG pool

A few months back, the first wave of a US import hot dipped galvanized (HDG) trade case caused enough concern that most traders jumped out of the proverbial water; when the days and weeks went on and there wasn’t a filing to speak of, many started re-testing the waters.  A similar situation has happened this month: sources close to SteelOrbis say the post-Labor Day file-date rumor made quite a few waves but now that the month has come to a close and nothing has happened, more and more traders are “dipping their toes back in the pool.”

“People are starting to slowly book tons out of China again,” according to one Texas-based trader source. “The floodgates have in no way opened but in the absence of action by the DOC, more and more people are open to the idea.”  In terms of prices, those seem to have remained stable since our last report a week ago, although “inquiries have certainly started to increase.”