Steel Products Prices North America
September 15, 2016
When Will Flat Rolled Steel Prices Bounce Back?
Written by John Packard
Over the past few weeks the pace of the flat rolled spot price decline has quickened and many buyers believe benchmark hot rolled coil prices are poised to drop below $500 per ton for the first time since mid-April 2015. Or, are they?
At this moment, SMU has our HRC index average at $525 per ton. Platts is at $550 per ton and the other brand is slightly higher than Platts. SMU has seen a major move in prices over the past week as our index dropped $35 per ton. The low end of our range dropped to $500 per ton. According to SMU sources most of the offers for spot HRC in the marketplace are $510 to $540 per ton as the mills continue to resist breaking through the $500 per ton psychological price barrier.
