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    SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Still Rising

    Written by Brett Linton


    If you’re seeking a peak, keep looking. Because it wasn’t this week. Steel Market Update found that spot prices for most sheet and plate products were again higher – despite scattered reports of increased availability for some contract buyers.

    SMU’s benchmark hot-rolled coil prices stands $1,760 per ton ($88/cwt), up $40 per ton from last week and quadruple a 2020 low, recorded last August, of $440 per ton. Cold rolled prices are up $20 per ton versus a week ago. And galvanized prices are flat. On the plate front, SMU’s price rose $60 per ton following a $100-per-ton increase from SSAB Americas and new, higher pricing from another domestic mill, market participants said.

    Brett Linton

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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.