Spot prices within the
US domestic A36 carbon steel
plate market have held sideways in the past two weeks, after prices tanked by approximately $5.50 cwt. ($121/mt or $110/nt) since the beginning of the year. At this point, many people are wondering where the floor is, and whether the bloodletting has finally stopped.
Current spot market prices are holding at $36.00-$38.00 cwt. ($794-$838/mt or $720-$760/nt) ex-Midwest mill; sources close to SteelOrbis say more and more transactions are taking place at the bottom end of that range, which could lead to a $1.00 cwt. narrowing in price span before the end of the month. Order activity, though, is still “OK.” It’s not terrible, but it’s not great, according to one Midwest-based source.
Offshore futures offer prices from
Malaysia are also unchanged, still at approximately $28.00-$29.00 cwt. ($617-$639/mt or $560-$580/nt) DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports; Japanese and Brazilian mills are also matching that range. Inventories are still pretty healthy, according to other sources, and few, if any are chomping at the bit to book heavy tonnages.