The US flat-rolled market saw pricing unchanged Wednesday as a smaller spread between small- and large-volume buys was heard but sentiment in the marketplace remained weak.
A buy-side source said there were growing concerns over demand in the market, while another buyer said he was surprised that the "negativity was across the board" from other buyers to steel mills.
Demand has remained stable but "not spectacular," a mill source said.
"Customers who are watching their inventory or [have] concerns over future price direction can cause people to slow their buying," he said.
However, he said he had not heard concerns about original equipment manufacturers' demand.
Hot-rolled coil prices in the market remained within the Platts daily assessment, but more offers continued to be heard near the bottom end of the range. The daily assessment for HRC was $450-$460/st, while cold-rolled coil was also level at $570-$580/st. All prices are normalized to a Midwest (Indiana) ex-works basis.
A Midwest service center source said he had seen HRC offers from a mill fall to $450/st from $460/st last week. He said lower prices were possible for "very big tons." In addition, he said another mill remained "very weak" on HRC. He said the mill was at $450/st as of last week but was not sure if their pricing had changed this week.
A second Midwest service center source said he had started to see HRC pricing slip below $460/st over the past week as most mills are "really trying to book orders." Despite the mills' appetite, he said HRC lead times "for the most part have remained at two to three weeks."
The United Steelworkers' labor negotiations with ArcelorMittal and US Steel may have also factored into the lower prices.
"As last week came closer to the end and it began to sound less like a strike or lockout would occur pricing became a bit more aggressive," the service center source added.
Source: Platts
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