SMU Price Ranges & Indices: HR Breaks Through $600...

Steel Market Update did not rush to break through the $600 barrier for hot rolled coil. We made a conscious decision that due to the Holidays we wanted to wait until this week to make sure we had as many data points as possible before breaking through $600. We are aware that some of our competitors broke through last week or on Monday of this week. Either way the bottom line is the same, there continues to be weakness in flat rolled steel prices and benchmark hot rolled coil sank to $590 per ton ($29.50/cwt) average with a range of $570 to $610 per ton in the full marketplace.

We continue to be worried that there is more weakness to come as many buyers are telling us that they are not buying at this moment due to high inventories. If buyers are holding back and only buying hand to mouth this will impact mill lead times and the ability of the mills to fill their books properly. Steel Market Update is conducting an analysis of the flat rolled steel market this week and we will have many more details regarding lead times, negotiations, etc. in Thursday evening’s edition of our newsletter.