Two weeks ago, spot prices within the
US domestic hollow structural sections (HSS)
tubing market corrected by approximately $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) to $34.00-$35.00 cwt. ($750-$772/mt or $680-$700/nt), ex-Midwest mill. Sources close to SteelOrbis reported that while order activity was steady, it had started to trend slow, which is typical of buying activity toward the middle-end of Q4.
Since that time, however, prices within the
US domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) markets have continued to soften, and today, HSS sources report that “anyone who is looking to book deals below the average range won’t have a hard time doing it.” Midwest sources say they will still feel much better one they feel HRC prices have officially reached bottom, as ongoing downward revisions will leave
US domestic HSS spot market prices vulnerable to additional corrections.