Final Thoughts

As the afternoon turned into evening, I began hearing rumors that a flat rolled price increase would be announced “soon.” I heard from a service center who was texting us from his car (a definite no-no) telling SMU that a yet to be named (by us) mill was moving prices. We are still waiting for the car to safely stop so we can learn more. As the evening wore on I spent time searching for confirmation from more buyers or from the mill itself to make sure we had the correct information. Just before 11 PM I received what I needed to confirm the ArcelorMittal USA price increase. What is written below was done prior to 11 PM…

An exec from a large service center in the Midwest told SMU earlier in the day that he is hearing of an increase coming as soon as next week, and then provided his opinion about such a move: “Hearing early rumblings of a price increase next week. Not sure if that is fodder to stimulate order books or if they will really do it. I think it’s a tad premature if they try next week, especially if scrap may slide again in November.”