Despite some softness earlier in the week, US sheet steel pricing was stable Friday, according to sources.
The continued absence of a Section 232 decision this week was said to have pushed hot-rolled coil offers in the Midwest as low as $610/st.
The US Department of Commerce's Section 232 investigation, which began in April, aims to determine if steel imports threaten national security, and the probe could result in tariffs or other trade restrictions.
However, higher raw material costs should help sheet pricing from falling back too far in the near term, a service center source said. US ferrous scrap prices settled up $20/lt on average in August and the outlook for September prices so far has been bullish, sources say.
"Scrap [is] poised to go higher so I don't see prices declining," the service center source said.
S&P Global Platts maintained its daily HRC and cold-rolled coil price assessments at $610-$630/st and $790-$810/st, respectively. Both assessments are normalized to an ex-works Midwest (Indiana) basis.
