The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices has widened significantly in March as both products saw large price gains, according to Steel Market Update data. With a flurry of recent price increases, our hot-rolled coil price average jumped $25 per ton week over week to $1,140 per ton ($57 per cwt) as of March 21. […] The post HRC, Prime Scrap Price Spread Widens Further in March 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.
March scrap prices have settled up across the board after extensive trading. As previously reported, mills were resistant and prices were up. With prime scrap reportedly hard to obtain, March prices settled up nearly $100 per gross ton above February, market participants said. And it doesn’t appear this prime scrap rally is ending this month. […] The post March Scrap Prices Shoot Up, Prime Up Nearly $100/ton appeared first on Steel Market Update.
More than three-quarters of US metro areas added construction jobs year-over-year (YoY) through January, according to Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) figures. Despite the employment boost, construction firms struggled to find enough qualified workers to hire, the report said. The report cautioned that projects may stall or be canceled altogether if contractors lack an […] The post AGC: Most Cities Added Construction Jobs in January appeared first on Steel Market Update.
What’s perhaps most shocking about Cleveland-Cliffs starting the week up $100 per ton ($5 per cwt) on sheet and targeting $1,200 per ton for hot-rolled coil (HRC) is that many of you didn’t find it shocking. In early February, we got used to prices going up by $50 per ton from one week to the […] The post Final Thoughts appeared first on Steel Market Update.
The steel industry in the US, and across much of the developed world, finds itself between two greens. On the one hand is the constant innovation towards sustainable, decarbonized “green” steel. And, on the other, is a more traditional green, the bottom line: money. The hope is to keep the two aligned, increasing profits while […] The post Final Thoughts appeared first on Steel Market Update.
By CRU Senior Analyst, Puneet Paliwal, from CRU’s Scrap, DRI/HBI & Pig Iron Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) for March rose by 7.4% month on month (MoM), to 357.7, which is its highest value since June 2022. Strong Turkish buying of scrap and pig iron since the second half of February is the key […] The post CRU: Turkish Rebuild Plans Boost Metallics Prices appeared first on Steel Market Update.
March scrap trading is ongoing as of Friday, but prices are reportedly up. One scrap source said the reason behind the continued trading was pretty simple. “Yes, it’s taken too long,” the source said. “Market is up, and mills are resistant. Took a while to sort through things.” Regarding what he’s seeing in the market at […] The post March Scrap Trading Ongoing, But Tags Seen Up appeared first on Steel Market Update.
What a difference a month makes in light of a difficult forecast environment for hot rolled (HR) prices. The mills have been raising HR spot prices faster than folks can track, and the futures appear to be in lockstep as lead times continue to extend. While steel capacity utilization rate seems stuck in the mid-70% […] The post HR Futures, Spot Prices Move Higher As Lead Times Extend appeared first on Steel Market Update.
We’ve just seen the biggest week-over-week increase in hot-rolled coil prices since the frenzy following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. SMU’s hot-rolled coil (HRC) price is up $140 per ton ($7 per cwt) week over week. That’s our biggest such gain since prices jumped $210 per ton in mid-March of last year at the height of […] The post Final Thoughts appeared first on Steel Market Update.