SMU HR Price MoMo Index Points To Flat-Line Pricing

MoMo was measured at -0.90 percent this week, meaning that the current HRC price is slightly lower than the average price over the last 12 weeks.

The change in MoMo can be a useful indicator in depicting the severity of price movements and evaluating the directional trend for flat rolled steel prices. The week-over-week change in MoMo was -1.17 percent, following a change of +1.08 percent last week. This change indicates that the movement in hot rolled prices is reversing direction and changing at a faster rate in comparison to the previous week.

To get a wider sense of the change in the MoMo Index, we calculate a 3-week average change. The 3-week average change in the MoMo Index is -0.42 percent, following a change of -0.51 percent the week before. This shows that the movement in hot rolled prices is decelerating when viewed over a longer period.

The graph below demonstrates the relationship between the SMU hot rolled coil price, the SMU Price MoMo Index, and the three week moving average change in the MoMo Index. Initially published in our Tuesday evening issue but revised on Wednesday morning, the SMU HRC price range for this week is $440-$480 per ton with an average price of $460, down $5 per ton from last week.