International Steel Prices
December 19, 2019
CRU: Will Sheet Price Rises Now Pause for Breath?
Written by Tim Triplett
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from the CRU Steel Sheet Products Monitor
Sheet prices in the U.S. were mixed this week. HR coil at $555 was steady w/w, falling by $2 /s.ton, while CR and HDG coil products gained $26-30 /s.ton w/w after steadying last week. For HR coil, overall volume has picked back up towards the annual weekly average with the vast majority of transactions coming in between $540 and $565 /s.ton. At the very end of last week and early this week, a new $40 /s.ton price increase was announced by multiple mills. Some market participants have noted that current market prices are now in a range where mills can go after market share, though others still see further room for prices to rise, so long as mills are disciplined in holding out for higher prices.
