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    Miller on scrap: Ferrous raw materials markets trending down for March

    Written by Stephen Miller


    The March outlook for most ferrous products is trending down faster than most participants thought as recently as a week ago. Mill-owned domestic scrap brokers have been warning the dealer trade they will seek to take the prime grades down at least as much as $50 per gross ton (gt), with shredded and other obsolescent grades down $30/gt.

    This would put busheling at $425-35/gt delivered to Great Lakes-area mills. If shredded scrap falls $30, that price should stabilize at $425-35/gt. It seems shredded has room to fall more than $30 since it went generally sideways in February. Reports are the flows of shredded feed improved last month.

    Stephen Miller

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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.