Expectedly, US domestic coated flat steel spot prices have slipped in the last week, and are likely to continue eroding in the next couple weeks. So far, a $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) increase announcement last week from AK Steel has not garnered support from other mills. Market insiders tell SteelOrbis that most are still skeptical about how effective it will be, if at all, as long as buyers' inventories and mill utilization rates (raw steel production increased 2.1 percent last week) remain high while scrap prices remain depressed and US buyer confidence is sluggish.
As a result, domestic hot dipped galvanized (HDG) and Galvalume spot prices have fallen into the more narrow range of $37.00-$38.00 cwt. ($816-$838/mt or $740-$760/nt) ex-Midwest mill in the last week. Deal-making on HDG 0.012"x40.875" G30 and Galvalume 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 has also grown more pronounced since early May, and spot prices have dropped by $0.50-$1.00 cwt. ($11-$22/mt or $10-$20/nt). Demand levels are firm, according to SteelOrbis sources, although prices are poised to remain soft as long as production levels ease and/or raw material prices register a notable increase; for the time being, the trend for scrap prices in June remains pessimistic.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic HDG base price | $37.00-$38.00 | $816-$838 | $740-$760 | ↓ $1.00 cwt. on high end |
| 0.012"x40.875" G30 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $47.00-$49.00 | $1,036-$1,080 | $940-$980 | ↓ $0.50 cwt. |
| 0.019"x48" G90 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $48.00-$50.00 | $1,058-$1,102 | $960-$1,000 | neutral |
| US domestic Galvalume base price | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $37.00-$38.00 | $816-$838 | $740-$760 | ↓ $1.00 cwt. on high end |
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $48.00-$49.00 | $1,058-$1,080 | $960-$980 | ↓ $1.00 cwt. on high end |