In our last report a week ago, SteelOrbis reported that market prices within the US domestic HSS market were trending between $45-$46 cwt. ($992-$1,014/mt or $900-$920/nt), ex-mill, with lead times hovering at 2-3 weeks. This week, the situation is largely the same, although some sources believe that prices could tick down by an additional $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) in the near future.
“We think it’s out there for the big guys, and that quiet deals are happening,” a source said. “That price point isn’t widely available in the market yet, but we think it could happen at any minute.”
This month’s downtrend in US scrap and HRC prices, another source said, “has raised quite a few eyebrows, which has a lot of people being extra cautious with their buying because no one is sure if the market has bottomed yet.”