Analysis
January 29, 2026
Written by Michael Cowden
At SMU, we ask the big questions: To be or not to be? Hot band at a grand?
On the one hand, whether hot-rolled coil prices can or can’t go above $1,000 per short (st) is a silly argument. It’s just a number. On the other hand, round numbers are something we tend to fixate on. They can be psychologically important to a market – even if they shouldn’t be.
The US Department of Commerce has preliminarily determined that critical circumstances exist in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of imports of large-diameter graphite electrodes (LDGEs) from China.
SMU’s Steel Demand Index rose to 69.5 in mid-September, its highest reading in more than five years.
SMU’s Mill Order Index (MOI) accelerated in August for a fourth consecutive month, reaching its strongest reading in nearly five years.
Worthington Enterprises reported higher fiscal first-quarter sales and earnings while citing rapidly growing data center demand and continued tightness in the steel market.
Sheet and plate prices continued to tick mostly higher this week amid a supply squeeze that shows no signs of loosening its grip on the US market.