SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index: Future Appears Brighter

Steel Buyers Sentiment remained in pessimistic territory in mid-April as steel demand was stifled by the government restrictions on commerce to control the spread of COVID-19. Future Buyers Sentiment was notably more optimistic, however, which suggests service center and manufacturing executives anticipate better days ahead.

Steel Market Update asked steel buyers how they view their company’s current prospects for success, as well as their chances for success three to six months in the future. This week’s Current Sentiment reading was -6, a slight improvement from -8 in early April. To put that figure in perspective, Current Sentiment has not been in negative territory since November 2010. The index spent two years in the pessimistic half of the range from late-2008 to late-2010 as the economy slowly recovered from the Great Recession. During the month of April 2020, Sentiment saw the sharpest one-month decline in the 11-year history of SMU’s index, dropping 66 points from a reading of +58 in the beginning of March.