The HRC futures market has continued its upward trend in the past few weeks with recent bullish events in the physical market supporting prices. While nearby periods remain firm with August and September trading around $650-660, further down the curve cal 15 prices have trended upwards trading up to $643. Similarly, Q1 and cal 15 […]
The hot rolled steel futures market has perked up in the past few weeks with recent bullish events in the physical market supporting prices. After months of trading in a strong backwardation, prices on the nearby months July, August and September have pushed higher trading near parity with spot prices, between $650-665 per ton. Further […]
The Detroit scrap market settled on Monday with cut grades (such as heavy melt or HMS) rising by $10 per gross ton and shredded scrap by $15 per gross ton. Prime grades, such as #1 busheling traded sideways compared to last month. Our scrap sources are telling us that the best deals made (from a […]
Our ferrous scrap sources are advising Steel Market Update that June saw the bottom to scrap prices and July will see prices move sideways (no change) to as much as up $20 per gross ton. If scrap prices do indeed rise by as much as $20 per ton, this could be important for steel buyers […]
The HRC futures market has been stuck in a rut over the past couple of weeks in terms of both volumes and price volatility. The market remains backwardated with the spot price now at 670 and the July futures value around 650, Q3 630 and Q4 630. While prices in the physical market have softened […]
Our ferrous scrap sources are advising Steel Market Update that June saw the bottom to scrap prices and July will see prices move sideways (no change) to as much as up $20 per gross ton. If scrap prices do indeed rise by as much as $20 per ton, this could be important for steel buyers […]
The HRC futures market has been stuck in a rut over the past couple of weeks in terms of both volumes and price volatility. The market remains backwardated with the spot price now at 670 and the July futures value around 650, Q3 630 and Q4 630. While prices in the physical market have softened […]
The past few weeks have been dire for the futures market in terms of volumes or price volatility. While the physical market has peaked for now, the futures market remains in a strong backwardation with prices for second half the year and calendar year 2015 stuck between 620-630 per ton. While the global picture, particularly […]
We have been working on trying to get a handle on scrap prices and adjustments in the costs the domestic steel mills will have for scrap during the month of June. SMU sources advised us that with the exception of prime grades of scrap most mills cancelled their remaining orders at the end of the […]
The past couple of weeks have been a bit brutal for the US hot rolled coil (HRC) forward curve. While the spot market is appearing to run out of steam the HRC forward curve has broken down particularly the second half 2014 periods and calendar 2015 periods. May and June have withstood this recent selling […]
Shredded scrap prices were still volatile in some markets as it searched for a bottom in the Ohio Valley and elsewhere at the end of last week. Detroit was reported to be the first market to settle with the mills there paying $15 per gross ton less than the prior month paying approximately $380 per […]
The hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market has been trading sideways over the past couple of weeks, taking cues from the physical market that looks to have slowed its ascent. Trading volumes have been fairly average, with traders and hedgers seemingly more comfortable on the sidelines until a new catalyst sparks the market to break […]
Shredded ferrous scrap prices are now projected to be down $15 to $20 per gross ton in the Chicago market according to SMU sources. At the same time prime grades (like #1 busheling) are expected to tread sideways (remain the same as prior month). If, once the deals are completed, all runs true to the […]
Today is the 3rd of April and negotiations between the steel mills and their scrap suppliers continue in earnest. We heard from one of our sources that Detroit has settled up $10 per gross ton. Our source reported #1 Heavy Melt (HMS) at $365-$370 per gross ton, shredded scrap at $395-$400 per gross ton and […]
The hot rolled futures market over the past week has consolidated gains on the nearby months. May and June have traded to a high of $685 and $680, reflecting optimism in continued short term strength in the physical market. The back end of the curve is not experiencing as strong buying interest, as the Q3 […]
Scrap prices rose by varying amounts around the country. In Chicago and Detroit prices rose from $5 to $15 per ton depending on the product. Both areas were impacted by the reduction of production at USS Gary Works (Chicago) and Great Lakes (Detroit). Detroit was the first to settle at up $10 per gross ton […]
The recent upturn in the physical market has continued to fuel the upswing in steel futures prices as nearby periods have surged this past week. The May and June HRC contracts have traded to highs of $660/ton while second half periods have traded up to $643. The nearby prices have improved over $40 during the […]
Today is the 3rd of April and negotiations between the steel mills and their scrap suppliers continue in earnest. We heard from one of our sources that Detroit has settled up $10 per gross ton. Our source reported #1 Heavy Melt (HMS) at $365-$370 per gross ton, shredded scrap at $395-$400 per gross ton and […]
With the expected steel price hikes finally coming to fruition the futures market has reacted strongly as offers were lifted and bids take a step up. After months of a down trending physical market sentiment has taken a clear turn to bullishness. The nearby months (March and April) traded to lows around $615 last week […]
The following article on hot rolled futures (HRC), #1 busheling futures (BUS) as well as information regarding the iron ore spot pricing and futures trading in China is written by Andre Marshall, CEO of Crunch Risk, LLC and the instructor for Steel Market Update’s Managing Price Risk workshop series. Our new: Managing Price Risk 2: […]
March scrap prices have settled with most areas of the country moving lower. The key Chicago area saw prices as follows: #1 Heavy Melt = $370 to $380 with $385 average down $15 per gross ton.Shredded scrap = $388 down $17 per gross ton.#1 Busheling = $388-$400 with an average of $394 per gross ton […]
The futures market stabilized this week as renewed buying interest has returned. It seems that the recent spot weakness is being shrugged off by most market participants as buyers are looking down the curve to add length. Recent history has shown us that waiting for the physical market to bottom is too late to pick […]
The hot rolled coil futures market took a leg down this week as offers down the curve became more aggressive. After weeks and months of a fairly static forward curve, this renewed downward pressure of the past few days has shaken up the market. The Q2 traded today as low as $623, the Q3-4 at […]
Scrap prices for February deliveries to the domestic mills have settled in most areas of the country. In Chicago and the Upper Midwest we are seeing prices down from the previous month as #1 HMS (heavy melt scrap) is at $390 per gross ton, shredded scrap ranges from $400-$410 per gross ton (average $405) and […]
The busheling market started to take shape this week as buyers and dealers came into the market, with early indications to be in the mills favor. Initial reports are for scrap in the Midwest to be down $30-40 / ton depending on grade and location. It seems that weather constraints have had a more negative […]
During the month of January Steel Market Update (SMU) adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator from Higher to Neutral. Benchmark hot rolled prices averaged $673 per ton ($33.65/cwt) according to the Steel Market Update index. CRU posted their monthly average at $676 per ton ($33.80/cwt). You can find the balance of our weekly and monthly averages […]
The busheling scrap market is starting to take shape, though it is still early in the month. Initial sentiment suggests that the market for prime scrap may be down around $20 / gt. With weakness in the export market as Turkish corruption problems, the weakening Lira and soft economy have prevented imports, additional material should […]
Ferrous scrap prices, which prior to the beginning of negotiations for the month of January were forecast to rise by $20 to $50 per gross ton, actually began shrinking as this past week progressed. Early settlements ranged from $10 on prime grades to $15-$25 per gross ton on obsolete and shredded scrap. As the week […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) would like to share some of the data we collected during the past 12 months. Below is a review of flat rolled steel pricing for 2013, scrap pricing during the year, SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index and more… Benchmark Hot Rolled Pricing in Review Benchmark hot rolled ended 2012 at $635 […]
The year 2013 for hot rolled steel futures was a story of two halves, with the beginning of the year trading in a strong contango and the second half of the year stuck in backwardation. The beginning of the year was characterized by low prices and significant volatility while the second half of the year […]