Tag: prices

Domestic mills are largely negotiable on spot prices, according to the majority of steel buyers responding to our latest market survey.

All of SMU’s sheet and plate steel price indices declined this week, easing by $30-40 per short ton (st) on average since early May. Prices continue to slide lower as buyers remain on the sidelines, wary of holding much excess inventory and expecting further declines.

Nucor lowered its weekly spot price for hot-rolled (HR) coil for a second straight week, down $10 per short ton (st), after keeping it in a holding pattern for most of April.

SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics earlier this week, including market prices and demand, tariffs and reshoring, inventories and imports, and evolving market trends.

Steel buyers said Nucor’s price decrease was a public acknowledgement of what most of the market had already known - that sheet prices were moving lower in a more significant way. The question now is whether mills and service centers will manage the decline or whether prices might fall rapidly, they said.

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After holding its weekly spot price for hot-rolled (HR) coil steady for three weeks at $930 per short ton (st), Nucor lowered the price this week by $20/st.

SMU’s Monthly Review provides a summary of our key steel market metrics for the previous month, with the latest data updated through April 30.

With so much happening in the news cycle, we want to make it easier. Here are highlights of what’s happened and a few things to keep an eye on this upcoming week.

Nearly two thirds of the steel buyers who responded to this week’s SMU survey say domestic mills are negotiable on spot prices. This increasing flexibility marks a significant shift from the firmer stance mills held in recent months.

Section 232 returned on March 12, and since then, the price gap between offshore and US hot band has tightened.

Most sheet and plate steel prices declined yet again this week, with four of SMU’s five indices moving lower.

SMU’s Mill Order Index declined in March after repeated gains at the start of the year, according to our latest service center inventories data.

Nucor aims to keep plate prices flat with the opening of its June order book.

Nucor’s weekly consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil remained unchanged this week.

Chinese export prices for longs were almost steady this week, while those for flats generally declined as producers cut prices to secure deals.

Domestic hot-rolled coil prices were flat this week after dropping for four straight weeks. Most offshore markets bucked the trend and gained ground.

Earlier this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to tariffs, imports, and evolving market events.

Nucor has kept its weekly hot-rolled (HR) coil price flat this week, after a marginal cut the previous week.

Nearly half of the steel buyers responding to this week’s SMU market survey say domestic mills are showing increased willingness to negotiate pricing on new spot orders. This marks a significant shift from the firmer stance mills held in prior weeks.

Steel prices slipped again this week, with all five of SMU’s sheet and plate indices trending lower for the second week in a row.

The constant flow of information we all receive can be a bit overwhelming, but SMU is here to help with a weekly snapshot.

Cleveland-Cliffs opened its May order book for spot material at $975 per short ton (st).

US scrap prices declined in April for all the grades tracked by SMU amid tariff uncertainty, according to market sources.

SMU’s Steel Demand Index growth eased again, according to early April indicators. The slowdown comes after the index reached a four-year high in late February.

This week is the first time all of our indices have moved lower in unison since July 2024.

Nucor’s consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil remains unchanged again this week. The pause over the past two weeks stands in contrast to the nine-week rally that saw the company increase prices regularly by double-digits. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker told customers on Monday that this week’s consumer spot price (CSP) for HR coil […]

Four out of every five steel buyers who responded to our latest market survey say domestic mills are unwilling to negotiate on new order spot pricing. Mills have shown little flexibility on pricing for nearly two months.

Sheet and plate prices were mixed on Tuesday as the market took a wait-and-see approach to the Trump administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.

SMU’s Monthly Review provides a summary of our key steel market metrics for the previous month, with the latest data updated through March 31.