SMU price ranges: Sheet slide continues as market seeks direction for June

It was a similar story for cold-rolled and galvanized base prices, both of which fell $10/st to $1,035/st on average.

Galvalume notched the steepest declines, dropping to $1,030/st on average – down $50/st vs. a week ago.

The declines on coated prices come against a backdrop of increased domestic capacity and higher import volumes, notably from Southeast Asia.

SMU’s plate price, meanwhile, slipped $5/ton to $1,140/st on average.

The big question now is whether prices will continue to fall or whether mills will manage to turn the tide with price increases.

Some market participants said price hikes could come in June. Others said the time was not ripe for increases. They noted that lead times are in July, typically one of the slower times of the year for the steel market, and the potential for weak scrap settlement next month.

Hot-rolled coil

The SMU price range is $720-780/st, averaging $750/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is unchanged week over week (w/w), while the top end is down $20/st. Our overall average is down $10/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for HR remains at lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.

Hot rolled lead times range from 3-7 weeks, averaging 5.0 weeks as of our May 22 market survey.

Cold-rolled coil

The SMU price range is $970–1,100/st, averaging $1,035/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range are down $10/st w/w. Our overall average is also down $10/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for CR remains at lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.

Cold rolled lead times range from 4-10 weeks, averaging 6.7 weeks through our latest survey.

Galvanized coil

The SMU price range is $980–1,090/st, averaging $1,035/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is up $10/st w/w, while the top end is down $30/st. Our overall average is down $10/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for galvanized remains at lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 benchmark: SMU price range is $1,077–1,187/st, averaging $1,132/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized lead times range from 4-8 weeks, averaging 6.8 weeks through our latest survey.

Galvalume coil

The SMU price range is $980–1,080/st, averaging $1,030/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is down $60/st w/w, while the top end is down $40/st. Our overall average is down $50/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for Galvalume remains at lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, grade 80 benchmark: SMU price range is $1,274–1,374/st, averaging $1,324/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume lead times range from 6-7 weeks, averaging 6.3 weeks through our latest survey.

Plate

The SMU price range is $1,080–1,200/st, averaging $1,140/st FOB mill. The lower end of our range is unchanged w/w, while the top end is down $10/st. Our overall average is down $5/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for plate remains at lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.

Plate lead times range from 4-7 weeks, averaging 5.5 weeks through our latest survey.

SMU note: Above is a graphic showing our hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume, and plate price history. This data is also available here on our website with our interactive pricing tool. If you need help navigating the website or need to know your login information, contact us at info@steelmarketupdate.com.