The October buy-cycle for US domestic scrap may still be ongoing, but the expectation that prices for HMS I, shredded and busheling scrap in the Midwest, South and Ohio Valley will settle down between $10-$30/nt this week, depending on the grade, has US domestic flat rolled steel prices trending soft.
SteelOrbis has learned that the most commonly reported spot price transaction range for base-price hot dipped galvanized (HDG) coil has eroded by “at least $1.50 cwt.” ($33/mt or $30/nt) in the past seven days. (Prices are currently down by $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt) on the low end and by $2.00 cwt. on the top end since our last report a week ago.) This brings the current average transaction range to $35.50-$36.50 cwt. ($783-$805/mt or $710-$730/nt), ex-Midwest mill.
“We won’t see the low end of this until scrap pricing bottoms out,” one source said, adding that HDG lead-times, which are “at about five weeks” have HDG mills showing increased willingness to negotiate price.
The question as to whether scrap prices bottom out this month, or whether additional market corrections will be seen in November, has yet to be answered.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic HDG base price | $35.50-$36.50 | $783-805 | $710-$730 | down $1.50 on the low end, down $2.00 cwt. on the top end |
| 0.012”x40.875” G30 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $43-$45 | $948-992 | $860-$900 | down $3.00 cwt., with rumors of deals |
| 0.019”x48” G90 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $42-$44 | $926-$970 | $840-880 | down $3.00 cwt., with rumors of deals |
| US domestic Galvalume base price | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $35-$37 | $772-$816 | $700-740 | down $1.00 cwt. with rumors of deep discounts for volume buyers |
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $42-$44 | $926-$970 | $840-880 | down $3.00 cwt. on the low end, down $2.00 cwt. on the top end, with rumors of deals |