SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index Shows Modest Improvement

SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index improved to +27 this week, this is 6 points better than the +21 measured during the first week of January and is almost back to the levels achieved during the middle of December (+28). However, current Sentiment is well below the +49 measured during the middle of January 2012 – which was the highest reading recorded for our index since we began measuring Sentiment in 2008.

We have been seeing our SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index trending much the same as steel prices – sideways – over the past couple of months. The SMU Index has been range bound, floating between +16 and +28 for a number of weeks as steel buyers and sellers try to determine if demand will improve from here and whether the government will remain dysfunctional and an impediment to both existing and future business growth. Uncertainty has been a key component of this market for a number of months and has directly impacted our Sentiment Index.