The US steel sheet market remains relatively steady, though a lack of buyer urgency may be eroding the bottom range of hot-rolled pricing, market sources said Monday.
A top-tier mill source said import buying has picked up but domestic capacity continues to be constrained, keeping prices range-bound on the top and bottom, respectively. The bulk of hot-rolled transactions were being done near $690/st, with the occasional low-volume deal done at $700/st, he added.
A second top-tier mill source said the spot market is at a "standstill," and speculated that small-volume orders could probably be had for about $680/st. Large volumes - in the 5,000 st range - could likely be had for $660/st, he said.
A Southern buyer said $690/st was the probable market midpoint, though he expects mills to make a push for higher pricing in the near future.
"I think they'll try a price increase," he said. "They've got to do something to try and change the psychology, somehow. If they don't, it's going to start creeping down."
A second buyer, who placed an order last week for a "couple hundred tons of vanilla stuff" at about $680/st, said supply issues are likely to keep pricing fairly level for the foreseeable future.
"I think it's peaked, but I don't see it changing," he said.
Platts lowered the bottom range of its hot-rolled assessment from $690-700/st to $685-700/st and kept its cold-rolled assessment stable at $810-820/st. All prices are normalized to a Midwest (Indiana) ex-works basis.
