Final Thoughts
September 23, 2021
Final Thoughts
Written by Tim Triplett
The benchmark price for hot rolled steel has declined for two weeks in a row, according to Steel Market Update’s latest surveys of steel buyers. In both cases, the decline was a mere $5 per ton. Margins of error being what they are, your takeaway should not be -$5, or even a decline (which could reverse next week), but rather that hot rolled steel prices appear to be plateauing.
When it comes to steel prices, it’s also unwise to generalize. End-use demand varies widely by product. The big jumps in hot rolled prices seen week after week for the past year may be leveling out, but cold rolled and coated prices continue to rise. SMU reported increases of $30-35 per ton for cold rolled and galvanized this week, following flat price tags the week before.
