Final Thoughts

For those who missed my comment earlier, Acero Junction hot strip mill is rolling at close to full right now. Our sources are advising us that the mill is running about 50,000 tons of HRC. They have prime slabs on the floor and incoming from Brazil (one of the reasons why semi-finished imports continue to grow). They have 48″ and 60″ material as well as some other odd widths. Our understanding is the mill is trying to remain close to the CRU number. We are being led to believe their numbers are in the $610-$640 range.

Late last week I got a note from one of my trading friends closely connected to China. He told me the Chinese market is in “turmoil” as iron ore has been dropping and the port prices were actually $3/dmt lower than what was being published by the indexes. He told me billet prices out of China were $420 metric ton FOB Stowed for May shipment. He also told me to expect flat rolled prices to “soften” in the coming days.