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    February 4, 2016

    Futures Pricing Lower: Is the Rally Over Already?

    Written by Spencer Johnson

    The following article is written by Spencer Johnson of FC Stone LLC. With six years of experience, Spencer provides his customers strategic and tactical advice on protecting themselves against commodity price volatility in the steel markets. Spencer rotates weekly futures articles with Andre Marshall of Crunch Risk, LLC. Spencer can be reached at spencer.johnson@intlfcstone.com.

    If you enjoy the articles that Spencer has been writing about the HRC Futures markets we recommend that you contact him and let him know you are paying attention. If you have an interest in learning more about the HRC Futures markets and other futures trading we encourage you to contact him and let you know your interest. He can be reached by email at spencer.johnson@intlfcstone.com or by phone at 212-379-5492. Spencer has advised SMU that due to the limited contact he will no longer write articles on the HRC Futures markets. Our gut feel is there are more people listening to Spencer out there than he realizes…

    Spencer Johnson

    A broker at FCStone LLC, Johnson is a veteran in the world of steel futures. He has worked with every type of market participant to formulate risk management and trading strategies for steel derivatives. StoneX has also worked tirelessly to grow liquidity and provide access to new ferrous markets for its clients. Johnson is in addition one of the longest serving members of the London Metal Exchange’s steel committee.

    Read more from Spencer Johnson

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    Mills seek more scrap after lower prices fail to attract tons

    Several mills that bought October scrap early last week are still asking for additional supplies, scrap market participants said. The reason: the mills' initial prices did not attract enough of the raw material, they said. A trading source based in northern Ohio said three mills have contacted his firm seeking offers for additional tons. He said the mills asked for offers even if prices were higher than their original buys last week.

    Nucor increases spot HR to $1,240/ton

    Nucor said on Monday, Oct. 12, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,240 per short ton (st) this week, a $10/st increase from a week earlier. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,305/st, up $15/st from the prior week. Nucor is still offering lead times of three to five weeks, according to the letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update (SMU) published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Oct. 6, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,270/st, up $10/st from the previous week. We will update our prices on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 13.

    Leibowitz: US steel prices skyrocket above world prices. Which are right?

    Steel markets in the United States now feature supply shortages. Spot tons are well-nigh unavailable, and even contract tons are scarce. Based on the available statistics, the US market for flat-rolled products is seriously constrained. The US economy is still the strongest in the world, and manufacturing output remains vigorous. But the available supply is tight. The reason is fairly obvious. US domestic supply has increased a bit. Meanwhile, imports have fallen significantly.