Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Steel Prices Flat in Europe, Up in North America
MEPS STEEL NEWS
Steel people spend a lot of time talking about how the industry today is truly global. Developments in one part of the world impact trading conditions everywhere. One result of this is that steel prices in the various regions tend to move in roughly the same direction at the same time.
But just at present the opposite is happening. MEPS analysis shows that strip product prices in Europe are basically flat, while they are rising in North America and going down in Asia. Last month's values in these three regions were within about $US10 of each other. This month there is a range of almost $US100 per tonne between the lowest (Asia) and the highest (North America).
[...] in North America, the September hot rolled coil price jumped by almost $US70 to $US580 per tonne. This is partly because of increased raw material surcharges related to higher scrap prices. There are also signs of higher demand, as orders are being quickly placed for steel needed for reconstruction work after the recent hurricane.
Raw material surcharges look like increasing again in October because North American scrap costs have strengthened further. This is partly because of disruption to supplies of scrap and other raw materials caused by the hurricane.
Steel people spend a lot of time talking about how the industry today is truly global. Developments in one part of the world impact trading conditions everywhere. One result of this is that steel prices in the various regions tend to move in roughly the same direction at the same time.
But just at present the opposite is happening. MEPS analysis shows that strip product prices in Europe are basically flat, while they are rising in North America and going down in Asia. Last month's values in these three regions were within about $US10 of each other. This month there is a range of almost $US100 per tonne between the lowest (Asia) and the highest (North America).
[...] in North America, the September hot rolled coil price jumped by almost $US70 to $US580 per tonne. This is partly because of increased raw material surcharges related to higher scrap prices. There are also signs of higher demand, as orders are being quickly placed for steel needed for reconstruction work after the recent hurricane.
Raw material surcharges look like increasing again in October because North American scrap costs have strengthened further. This is partly because of disruption to supplies of scrap and other raw materials caused by the hurricane.
