US steel sheet prices soften as mills offer more aggressive deals
US flat-rolled steel prices edged lower Tuesday as some mills were heard to be offering hot-rolled coil under $900/st.
The daily Platts TSI US hot-rolled coil assessment was calculated at $902.50/st Tuesday, down 50 cents from Monday, while the daily Platts TSI US cold-rolled coil assessment was calculated at $1,008.75/st, down $3.50/st over the same period.
A US service center source said at least one mini mill producer was offering more aggressive HRC pricing at $880-$890/st, while a second service center source said one mini mill was offering HRC as low as $850/st to fill its August order book.
"The mills are not desperate at this point, but they do need business," the second service center source said. "The opinion in the market in recent weeks has been that HRC is the strongest product, but I think we're already seeing the effects of additional capacity coming back online."
