Contributor: David Schollaert

US manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in August, Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said.

LV sales rose to 15.9 million units in May, and ahead of the consensus forecast which called for a sideways move at 15.8 million units.

“Demand remains elusive as companies demonstrate an unwillingness to invest due to current monetary policy and other conditions."

Auto sales were lower as the first quarter closed out, driven largely in part due to continued elevated prices and interest rates.

Prices of steelmaking raw materials are largely up over the over the last 30 days, as they were the month prior, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis. The post Steelmaking raw material prices remain mostly higher vs. October appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Hot-rolled coil prices were down again this week, continuing a streak of week-over-week (WoW) declines that began in early/mid-July. The post SMU Price Ranges: Sheet Declines Moderate – Meaning or Noise? appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Sheet prices were mixed this week with hot-rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized base prices slipping again even as cold-rolled tags inched up. The post SMU Price Ranges: HRC Dips Below $800 per ton appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Sheet prices slipped for the third consecutive week on continued discounts from certain mills for larger buyers. The post SMU Price Ranges: Sheet Price Slide Again as Volume Discounts Continue appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, contact Lindsey Fox at lindsey@steelmarketupdate.com. Prices of steelmaking raw materials have been largely on the decline over the last 30 days, as they were the month prior, the exception being pig […] The post Steelmaking Raw Materials Update: Price Declines Continue appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Existing home sales rebounded in February from January, swinging positive for the first time in 13 months, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). However, all four major regions in the US registered year-over-year (YoY) drops, though month-on-month (MoM) sales were up among the four regions, NAR said. Sales of existing homes surged 14.5% […] The post Existing Home Sales Rose in February: NAR appeared first on Steel Market Update.