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Forecasts and market analysis based on price assessments from Fastmarkets MB and Fastmarkets AMM

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March 2019 | North American Steels


Coil price increases stifled by competition among local producers: US Flat Product Highlights


On February 20, Nucor announced a new $40 per ton coil price increase and was soon followed by all major producers, while ArcelorMittal set minimum prices of $730 per ton for HRC, and $860 per ton for both CRC and HDG (base).

Despite two rounds of price hikes in less than four weeks, US flat steel prices fell again in February. After a 6.3% month-on-month HRC price fall in January, US mills tried to put an end to the downtrend in a traditionally strong quarter of the year and announced a $40 per ton price increase to their coil prices. Initially, the hike looked like a success and by February 11 the HRC index climbed to $687 per ton, up by $24 from the end of January. But the momentum did not last and although official asking prices were set near $700 per ton, producers started to accept bids as low as $660 per ton in an attempt to win orders amid subdued demand in the spot market.

On February 20, Nucor announced a new $40 per ton coil price increase and was soon followed by all major producers, while ArcelorMittal...

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