In early January
US domestic hollow structural sections producers announced an effective immediately price increase announcement $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt), and despite early skepticism that the increase may not gain full traction, within a week’s time, prices did move up by mills’ desired range.
The increase moved the
US domestic HSS spot price range to approximately $34.50-$35.50 cwt. ($760-$783/mt or $690-$710/nt), ex-Midwest mill; today, sources close to SteelOrbis say they are hearing that HSS mills may try to firm prices once again, citing firmed prices within the
US domestic hot rolled coil market.
Market players are “upbeat and happy” with the current state of the market, sources say, despite ongoing concerns about oversupply. On the other hand, the recent price firming seen within
US domestic flat rolled steel segments seems to have stalled, and despite
US domestic scrap prices forecast to trend neutral into February, it should be noted that there is already speculation that scrap prices could come down again in March, which could have a negative impact on downstream product segment pricing.
Should March scrap prices indeed begin to soften, current gains within the
US domestic HSS spot market could be vulnerable to downward correction.