Steel Products
March 28, 2019
Let’s Discuss Steel Prices
Written by John Packard
On Tuesday of this week, Steel Market Update published a hot rolled price range of $650-$720 per ton, with an average of $685 per ton. The lower end of our range dropped $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) while the upper end of our range remained the same. Our Price Momentum Indicator on hot rolled remained unchanged at “Higher” meaning SMU anticipates HRC prices to rebound over the next 30 days. In fact, on all flat rolled products, our Price Momentum Indicator is referencing higher spot prices.
What we are learning is there has been a disconnect between hot rolled and the other flat rolled products (cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume). Hot rolled prices dropped while CR, GI and AZ prices rose this week compared to the prior week. How dramatic that disconnect may actually be is under discussion, and SMU understands our duty to provide the most complete and transparent information possible.
