SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Coated Slips - Trend or Noise?

Flat-rolled steel prices are again mixed. Hot rolled is up $20 per ton, cold rolled is unchanged, and coated products are down $20-25 per ton. (Plate – following mill price hike announcements – is up a sharp $105 per ton.) The mixed signals are not a sure sign of the market inflecting. And Hurricane Ida hasn’t had its final say yet. But it’s a trend worth keeping an eye on, especially with imports putting more pressure on coated markets in particular. What’s propping this all up? Solid demand. Which we think will save us from a repeat of 2008-09, when demand vanished and prices collapsed. In fact, a little moderation in prices and lead times might be just what the doctor ordered. For the time being, we have opted to leave our Price Momentum Indicators at the Higher readings where they have been for the past year, but acknowledge that change may be in the offing and we could soon be switching to Neutral so as not to influence the market as it establishes a clear direction.

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $1,870-$2,000 per net ton ($93.50-$100.00/cwt) with an average of $1,935 per ton ($96.75/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range decreased $20 per ton compared to our last price update two weeks ago, while the upper end increased $60. Our overall average is up $20 per ton from two weeks ago. Our price momentum on hot rolled steel is Higher, meaning prices are expected to rise in the next 30 days.