SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Glass Half Full or, Glass Half Empty?

We are picking up a very mixed bag over the past two days regarding spot flat rolled pricing. As we go through the process we ask ourselves is the spot pricing market glass half full (meaning prices will go higher from here) or half empty (meaning prices will move lower).  We don’t have a clear answer to the question and our Price Indicator remains at Neutral.

We are finding the lowest spot prices are associated with ThyssenKrupp Steel USA in the south where we are hearing of competitive numbers in the spot markets on all products. In the Midwest which tends to be dominated by U.S. Steel, ArcelorMittal, Severstal and a couple of mini-mills, we are seeing the domestic mills as being stable at the same price levels seen one week ago. Steel buyers in the Midwest are reporting spot pricing on hot rolled in the $640-$660 area as the norm. However, we are picking up price points slightly below our $630 low point of last week (now $625) and no one seems to mention $670 anymore on the high side. Galvanized prices we found some weakness – Galvalume we did not. Cold rolled has remained stable.