Last week, SteelOrbis reported that the average spot market price for US domestic plate had fallen from $48.50 cwt. ($1,069/mt or $970/nt) to $47.00 cwt. ($1,036/mt or $940/nt), ex-Midwest mill, for larger-sized orders.
“Prices are somewhere between $47-$48 cwt. ($1,036-$1,058/mt or $940-$960/nt), depending on who you are and what you’re buying,” a source said.
Others have noted a strong belief that plate prices are “artificially inflated,” adding that there are quiet rumblings and suspicions that prices will continue to correct downward in the upcoming months.
“If you look at what happened to the steel markets as a whole, after Section 232, we’re now in a place where import flat rolled is just about on par with where domestic prices are. But the spread between import plate and domestic plate is still pretty big,” another source said, noting that import prices are being heard at approximately $42 cwt. ($926/mt or $840/nt), ex-warehouse.
“It would make sense for plate to come down to a level that’s closer to where import is.”