Continued price firmness in the US domestic hollow structural sections (HSS) market has done little to improve buying activity. The tubing market has been steady in the last couple weeks--purchasing activity is stable and demand does not appear to have wavered. July was a strong month for demand, according to distributor sources, and despite the malaise that generally pervades the summer months, August has been decent so far as well. Buyers tell SteelOrbis they sense some nervousness from mills, but not enough to negatively impact pricing. Mills continue to push for higher prices, bring spots up $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) on the high end to $47.00-$49.00 cwt. ($1,036-$1,080/mt or $940-$980/nt) ex-Midwest mill since the beginning of the month.
Official mill asking prices are on the high end of the range, and the presence of lower prices indicates that the market is not strong enough to fully absorb mills' last round of price increases. Even though prices have been on the rise for the last couple months, customers are still only making purchases to fill inventory holes, with some service centers actually trying to lean out inventories because of the uncertain direction of prices in the fall. Domestic prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) continue to be steady, but any signs of weakness in flat rolled are anticipated to impact the HSS market almost immediately.