Price Increase Rumors Starting to Float

A large flat rolled steel service center shot me a note late on Friday advising a steel mill had told them earlier in the day to expect a $40 per ton price increase as soon as Monday of this week. At the same time the customer was told if scrap prices in March increase by more than $50 per ton there would be a second increase in the first week of March.

The distributor then went on to say about the timing of any increase announcement, “Earlier they announce the better chance of impacting March CRU.”