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Pricing
Steel Market Update produces weekly price assessments, news, and analysis of market trends affecting prices and sentiment on the US steel market.
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Latest news
Price: Why have steel emissions policies forgotten about recycling?
Steelmaking currently accounts for approximately 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The only way to achieve net zero goals is to significantly reduce steel emissions worldwide. And there is no way to do that without recycling.
CRU: Size matters – BHP’s bid to be the global mining behemoth
If successful in its overtures to Anglo American, BHP will create the world’s largest diversified miner by a country mile. The rationale for this merger is scale and in mining, size matters.
BREAKING NEWS: Cliffs posts $850/ton spot HR price
Cleveland-Cliffs said its base spot hot-rolled (HR) coil price will be $850 per short ton (st) with the opening of its June order book.
The company made the announcement in a press release and in a letter to customers on Friday.
SMU survey: HR, plate lead times slip as CR extends
Hot-rolled coil and plate lead times contracted this week, with most other products remaining flat, according to SMU’s most recent survey data.
Cold-rolled products, however, saw lead times extend 0.1 weeks to an average of 7.5 weeks vs. two weeks earlier. Hot rolled and plate lead times both contracted 0.3 weeks from our last market check.
HR futures: Activity muted amid quiet spot market
Week-over-week trading activity in US steel derivatives markets was relatively muted, with prices maintaining their downward direction since the beginning of the month.
Bids have materialized at the lower end of this range in the May, as the nearby backwardation continues to roll on – just as we saw with April being a premium over May.
Final thoughts
I’ve gotten some questions lately about whether the huge gap between domestic hot-rolled coil (HR) prices and those for cold-rolled (CR) and coated is sustainable.
I remember being asked similar questions about the wide spread between HR and plate that developed in early 2022. I thought at the time that there was no way that spread could hold.
Turned out, I was wrong. That was humbling. And so I’m not going to make any bold predictions this time.
Reliance earnings fall 21% in tough pricing environment
Reliance Inc.’s earnings slumped in the first quarter of 2024, but the company expects better than normal seasonal recovery in demand in the second quarter.
SMU survey: Sheet buyers find mills more willing to negotiate spot prices
Sheet steel buyers said mills are more willing to talk price on spot orders, according to our most recent survey data.
Ternium Mexico’s shipments slip but upturn expected
Destocking at service centers and a downturn in steel pricing impacted Ternium’s shipments in Mexico in the first quarter of the year.
Steel imports stabilized in March
Steel imports held steady in March, up just 1% from February according to preliminary Census data released earlier this week.
US HR premium dips even as stateside tags edge lower
US hot-rolled (HR) coil remains more expensive than offshore hot band, though with a tighter premium as prices stateside and abroad have ticked lower in recent weeks.
Algoma to conclude planned plate mill outage at month’s end
Algoma Steel Inc. expects to wrap up a previously announced outage on its plate mill by the end of this month, a company spokeswoman said.
The outage is part of the Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker’s $130 million CAD ($95 million USD) modernization project. It began in mid-April.
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Pricing
Interactive Pricing Tool
Chart steel and scrap prices against key indicators with our Interactive Pricing Tool.
wdt_ID | Product | Low | Avg | High |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | HR | 785 | 815 | 845 |
2 | CR | 1,100 | 1,130 | 1,160 |
5 | GI | 1,100 | 1,130 | 1,160 |
6 | AZ | 1,080 | 1,110 | 1,140 |
7 | PL | 1,160 | 1,225 | 1,290 |