The US domestic scrap market is hardly rocking-and-rolling, but a number of sources throughout the US say that May prices trended sideways, if not slightly up from levels seen in April.
Prices in the Chicago region held stable, at $220-$225/lt for HMS I/II and $240-$245/lt for busheling scrap. Prices in the Pittsburgh/ Cleveland area are also steady, at $230-$240/lt forvHMS I/II and $260-$265/lt for P&S scrap, although sources in that area say that some mills paid as much as up $20/lt for busheling scrap, bringing the price point in that region to $260-$265/lt. Other sources have reported that in some areas of the South, prices have trended up $10/lt from levels seen in April.
The reason for the sideways to slightly up trend is threefold. One, scrap inventories may not have been as high as people seemed to think they were and two, mills came into the market needing more scrap than initially anticipated. Another reason relates to ex-mill pricing for finished steel products; US domestic flats mills rolled out a price increase in the beginning of May and earlier this week, US plate mills and US HSS tubing mills followed suit. Previously seen pricing slides on finished steel products may have finally come to an end, which is likely to alleviate downward pricing pressure on the US scrap market. Dealer sources throughout the country say they’re feeling slightly more optimistic than they have felt in the past, and feel that slight upticks in pricing for the next several months could be a reality.