SMU Data and Models
October 2, 2014
SMU Price Momentum Indicator - Stuck in Neutral?
Written by John Packard
Our Price Momentum Indicator has been stuck in “Neutral” since the last day of June 2014. We are now entering our 4th month and hot rolled steel prices have barely budged from the center line (OK, there have been some mild gyrations but no clear cut path up or down during the past three months). As we mention in our “September at a Glance” article (coming up after this article), On July 1, 2014 the SMU hot rolled price average was $660 per ton. Fast forward to Tuesday of this week and our latest number is $655 per ton.
Everyone is looking at the peak of the cycle during these past three months which was $675 per ton and now we are $20 per ton lower than the peak. So, now we are getting phone calls asking when we are going to change our Price Momentum Indicator from Neutral to Lower.
