During the last week of June, US domestic flat rolled steel mills announced a sweeping $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) price increase for all flat rolled steel products, including cold rolled coil. A second $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) price increase was announced earlier this week.
Prior to the first increase, prices were being heard in the range of $32-$34 cwt. ($705-$750/mt or $640-$680/nt), ex-mill, although deals up to $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) below that range were reported. Today, however, prices have begun to firm.
“The deep discounts are gone, and if anything, the price increases have helped shore up the market, a source said, noting that today’s average price range is hovering between $33-$35 cwt. ($728-$772/mt or $660-$700/nt).
However, US scrap prices trading at soft sideways in the current month coupled with “too much steel and not enough orders” is likely to continue to hinder the market moving forward.
“I think what we’re seeing now is that a lot of people took their inventories razor thin, and now that they think the market has bottomed, they’re rushing out to buy again, which is helping push prices up,” another source said. “But the big problem is capacity, and unless the mills stop playing this game of chicken, because none of them wants to be the first one to cut production, we’re still going to have an oversupply problem. That’s what’s biting the market in the tail right now.”