US domestic scrap prices settle sideways in Pittsburgh and Ohio

Through August, September scrap prices were expected to rise by $20-$30/mt on the East Coast and $20/mt inland. According to sources, steel mills purchased scrap at sideways prices through most of the inland regions during the September buy-cycle that ended the week of September 8. The anticipated higher prices for September were not realized based on what one source noted as “the triangle of reasons”: smaller mill buys due to planned outages in September, supply side over-estimations regarding the export effect, and the fact that dealers held back some inventory in August that resulted in the slight supply overhang in September negotiations.

In regard to expectations for future months, sources noted that they “see nothing bad on the horizon” and “expect continued strength in scrap into the fourth quarter.”

(*) denotes no change in September settled prices compared to August settled prices in the corresponding region.