Late last week, market sources were reporting increased chatter of a pending price increase for US domestic flat rolled steel products; many believed the ball would drop by end of business last Friday and that mills would be pushing to firm prices between $1.00-$2.00 cwt. ($22-$44/mt or $20-$40/nt). Today, the waiting continues.
Buyers across the US say they’d actually welcome the announcement; once the market hits a “confident bottom”, purchasing activity is expected to resume with a vengeance. “At this point we’ve already taken a hit on our high priced inventory,” according to one source, “but if we can replace that with steel at current market prices, and sell it in the 3rd and 4th quarter when things are a bit higher, we’ll be good.”
Current ex-Midwest mill spot pricing continues to hold in the approximate range of $22.00-$24.00 cwt. ($485-$529/mt or $440-$480/nt), although transactions at the top end of that range are becoming fewer and farther between.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic | ||||
| Ex-Midwest mill | ||||
| HRC | $22-$24 | $485-$529 | $440-$480 | neutral |
| Turkey* | ||||
| HRC | $22-$24 | $485-$529 | $440-$480 | neutral |
| Australia* | ||||
| HRC | $22-$24 | $485-$529 | $440-$480 | neutral |
| Brazil* | ||||
| HRC | $22-$23 | $485-$507 | $440-$460 | mostly neutral with rumors of deals |
| *DDP loaded truck US Gulf Coast ports | ||||