Severstal North America sent a letter to customers late Tuesday and early Wednesday indicating that effective with all new orders received December 14 or later, minimum prices for hot rolled, cold rolled and coated products will be:
Hot rolled bands: $37.00 cwt. ($816/mt or $740/nt)
Cold rolled: $42.50 cwt. ($937/mt or $850/nt)
Hot dipped galvanized: $42.50 cwt. ($937/mt or $850/nt)
Severstal said the reason for the increase is that "steel demand in December continues to improve and we expect even further improvement in 2012. Most steel markets, led by automotive and energy, continue to develop gradually but consistently and there are signs that construction has reached bottom and begun to turn."
Severstal also said that it will continue to monitor pricing and market conditions on a regular basis and may choose to modify prices in the future at any time.