Economy

January 31, 2016
January: End of Month Data
Written by John Packard
We ended the month of January on a positive note. SMU Price Momentum Indicator continues to point toward higher prices over the next 30 days. Our Sentiment Index broke through an extended downward (growing pessimism) trend and is now heading higher (more optimistic). We believe a portion of the improvement is due to flat rolled steel prices heading higher and partially may be due to moving into the New Year.
Our HRC average for the month was $395 per ton, slightly lower than the CME settlement price for January which was $398 per ton. Platts has been running slightly higher at $403 per ton.


