Currently, steel coil prices in the country have fallen since peaking in late 2023
Last year, demand for steel in the US was stable and is expected to remain so in 2024. The opinion was expressed by the directors of American steel mills, according to World Steel Dynamics .
Mark D. Millett , president and CEO of Steel Dynamics, told analysts that he was confident in the steel demand forecast for 2024. He emphasized that for most of last year, customers' steel product inventories were below historical averages and this trend continued.
Millet also commented on the recent decline in US hot-rolled steel prices. According to him, the flat products segment remains stable for the company and, despite the not so constructive macroeconomic environment, Steel Dynamics' order entry rate in January was high.
According to the CEO of Steel Dynamics, the spot price of hot rolled coil (HRC) is not as reliable a signal to the industry as it used to be and does not always reflect the level of demand, as few spot deals are currently being done. .
Lorenzo González , president and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, told analysts that $1,000 per short ton is a good price for HRC. Since the last announced price increase (January 3) to US$1,150/t, up from the December increase to US$1,100/t, the company has been doing business at this higher level in some cases. However, the overall market price is still lower, so the situation is ambiguous.
González further explained that since the end of September last year, Cliffs has made six price increase announcements. The company practices these steps until it realizes that the market has reached a point where it can no longer put pressure on it.
Nucor expects firmer prices in the future. According to Steve Luxton , Nucor's executive vice president and chief financial officer, the company's shipping volumes increased at the end of the fourth quarter, which helped it sell its flat products at higher prices in line with pricing trends. in published indexes. He added that the company expects further improvements in shipping volumes and pricing to have a positive impact on Q1 2024 results.
At the same time, 62% of respondents to a WSD survey conducted on LinkedIn expect U.S. hot-rolled coil prices to be less than $1,000 per short ton by the end of the first quarter of this year, while 14% expect exceed this value. However, the main price indices now report lower HRC prices. For example, on February 9, Platts lowered its estimate for U.S. hot-rolled coils to $900 per short ton.
The survey notes that producers expect stable demand and prices in the future, but steel futures are trading significantly lower. According to one commenter, mills may accept orders at prices below US$1,000 per short ton, depending on their volume.
As previously reported by Compraço, global prices for hot-rolled coils have increased in key markets since the beginning of 2024. In Europe, prices were supported by a low supply of locally produced products and the exhaustion of import quotas. In the US, the trend is similar, but supply still exceeds demand, which is holding back price growth.
