Stagnancy in the US plate market has not improved in the last month, even after some--but, tellingly, not all--US plate mills attempted to raise prices by $1.25 cwt. ($28/mt or $25/nt) in August. As such, sources tell SteelOrbis that spot prices remain vulnerable, although the spot range has not changed from $35.00-$36.00 cwt. ($772-$794/mt or $700-$720/nt) ex-Midwest mill in the last few weeks. The soft trend is expected to continue in the near term as long as order activity remains low.
Sources say that the low market activity can be attributed in large part to a flurry of Turkish orders that are scheduled to arrive soon. Imported plate from Turkey will arrive within the next couple of weeks with tags at about $32.50 cwt. ($716/mt or $650/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Sources say not all of those shipments are direct orders, so some speculative buys are likely. As for future orders, Taiwanese mills are offering narrower plate to the US for about $34.00 cwt. ($750/mt or $680/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, but there are few takers.