June 2009 | Steel Tracker
US coil prices bottom out: Flat Product Analysis-North America & Europe
US steelmakers still have to wait for the fourth quarter for a sustained recovery.
Booming bank profits and rising shares in the USA imply that the recession will soon be over, if not already. Other indicators show that the flood of liquidity poured into the economy by the government on taxpayers’ behalf has, at best, stopped the descent into a slump. Forecasts of a return to growth next year look credible again. But, US steelmakers are not prepared to wait that long for their own fortunes to revive. After many frustrating months of them holding down operating rates to unprecedented low levels in the hope of sparking a price revival but instead having to watch prices fall, coil prices have risen modestly.
HR coil was available for less than $20/UScwt ($441/tonne) in May, in some cases for a good deal less, where big orders that could command discounts of $1/UScwt ($22/tonne); now the price range is $20.50/UScwt. The CR coil price is also...
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