U.S. Ferrous scrap market settles sideways in November

It took a while but the U.S. scrap market for November has largely settled. We could characterize this settlement as perhaps “soft sideways,” as most districts were content with sideways pricing for November. However, one large buyer was attempting to buy at down $20/gt. This attempt, as predicted previously by RMU, was met with dealer resistance, given that the vast majority of other mills went sideways. However, in a few districts in the South, prime grades settled at down $10/gt. But, in general prices were sideways to down $5-10/gt in most regions.

You would think, with the steelmaking industry largely supporting President Trump in last week’s election, they would have a more positive attitude. Most other industries received a “Trump Bump,” but I guess ferrous scrap doesn’t fit into the equation. Maybe, HRC doesn’t either. Those commodities are still weak and most players with whom I have spoken don’t know what is going to make these sectors better. Maybe more tariffs? We’ll have to wait and cross our fingers.