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    October 11, 2015

    Comparion Price Indices: Stable to Down for the Week

    Written by John Packard

    Flat rolled steel prices continued their slide according to the various flat rolled steel market indexes followed by Steel Market Update. The greatest movement was found with benchmark hot rolled which was down double digits on all of the indexes reporting last week. We saw mixed results when reviewing cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and plate price movements.

    Benchmark hot rolled coil (HRC) dropped $10 per ton on both the SMU and Platts indexes and $16 per ton on the CRU index. By the end of last week all three indexes agreed on the average price for HRC being $420 per ton ($21.00/cwt). This is not to say that this is the lowest price available in the marketplace. SMU has been reporting prices as low as $400 per ton and we are aware of larger offers below $400 per ton. We anticipate further downward pressure on HRC prices even though the domestic mills don’t want the indexes to report the average below the $400 threshold. With a $50 per ton move in scrap pricing and potentially more weakness to come, SMU Price Momentum is for prices to move lower over the next 30 days.

    John Packard

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