US sheet prices appear to be moving up organically ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, with some market sources predicting a break above $800/short ton by the end of the year.
A source at one top-tier mill puts transaction prices for hot-rolled late last week at around $750/st and quotes for new orders beginning at $780/st.
A Midwest buyer likewise predicts hot-rolled “…will be much more pricey by Thanksgiving” – around $800/st.
“I’d say coil prices are clearly moving on supply/demand dynamics and haven’t needed [mill] announcements to signal change,” he says. “There could be some mill announcements, but they are not required for higher prices.”
A second Midwest buyer says transaction prices are not keeping pace with rising index prices, but buying should remain consistent throughout what is usually a seasonally slow period.
“I expect the spot market will remain consistent with the past two weeks’ activity,” he says. “Many spot buys are going to service centres that have heavier inventory than they are comfortable having and no lead times. We sold many tons that we purchases from a mega-sized service centre – most was sold to other distributors.”
Kallanish raised its hot-rolled price Monday to $750-780/st, with cold-rolled moving up to $940-980/st.
Article courtesy of Kallanish Steel
Image courtesy of Pepi Stojanovski
Author Posted
25th November 2020
