Market sources have indicated that the $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) price increase that tube mills announced earlier this month has, in essence, “gone away.” Sources have further noted that spot prices, which were trending in the range of $45-$46 cwt. ($992-$1,014/mt or $900-$920/nt) ex-mill one week ago, have softened to an average price of $44 cwt. ($970/mt to $880/nt), ex-mill.
“Inquires are down, order activity is down, the market is slow,” said one Midwest-based source who is working from home due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak. “It’s hard to peg exactly where the market is going because the situation is fluid. What we do know is that the price increase has pretty much gone away and that the market is going to get worse before it gets better.”