SMU Price Ranges: Another Week of Modest Gains, Now What?

Sheet prices continued to inch upward as most market participants reported solid first-quarter demand, despite concerns in some corners about 2H activity.

But the pace of price gains appears to have slowed, at least temporarily, and lead times have leveled off as well. Any significant additional sheet price gains will hinge less on mill announcements than on where scrap settles in February, some contacts said.

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is managing editor for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He has since 2014 specialized in flat-rolled steel but has previously reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube as well as aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago - where he was involved in launching AMM's daily hot-rolled coil index, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.