SMU survey: Sheet buyers find mills more willing to talk price

Domestic buyers of steel sheet said mills were much more willing to negotiate spot pricing this week, according to our most recent survey data.

Hot rolled’s negotiation rate jumped a whopping 42 percentage points to 75% from two weeks ago. This comes amid falling hot rolled prices. This week, hot rolled tags tumbled $25 week over week to an average of $1,025 per ton as of Tuesday, according to SMU’s most recent pricing.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.