Last week's flat-rolled price hikes appear to be having difficulty gaining traction, particularly in the southern US, buyers said Thursday.
"Nothing has changed," said one service center executive in the South. "I don't know, it's going to be interesting to watch, but at the end of the day they have to run the mills. We want it to stick, because if [the mills] can get [their prices] up we can get ours up, but the demand is not there."
In the Houston area, imported material and hungry domestic mills are keeping prices subdued, characterizing Platts Midwest ex-works hot-rolled assessment of $640-650/st as "crazy numbers" for a buyer in the South, he said. Platts maintained both its hot-rolled and cold-rolled assessment of $745-755/st Thursday.
A trader said there is no real impetus for higher prices, particularly for mini-mills and southern producers, beside contract negotiations.
"I don't think it's going anywhere," he said. "It's pretty solid at the $640 number, and they're pretty happy with the orders they're getting at that number. Stability is good."
