US flat-rolled prices may be slowly inching up as a result of the increases announced last week, though at least some market sources said their primary effect has been to stall late-year price erosion.
"It's tightened the range back up, and it's taken away some of the lower-priced offers out there," said a source with one top-tier mill that announced a price hike. "We hear rumors of those kinds of things, but it just seems like the increase has had the effect of pulling the lower end up."
He added, however, that his company has recently collected some orders at $660/st and certain few orders at $670/st.
"I think, begrudgingly, we are moving the market up because we're digging in and collecting our number," he said.
A service center executive said, however, that he's seen little movement in either the hot-rolled or cold-rolled price, and the announcement from most mills of $680/st was never really meant to pull the market up.
"They were afraid of [HRC] falling to $600," he said. "They got what they wanted. I don't know what to make of all this. It seems like a game of chicken. Nothing has changed. No one's running to the doors to give them jillions of tons."
A second service center source said mill discipline may be solid, but buyer wariness is high.
"Actually, we are all interested in paying higher prices, so long as we all pay them," he said. "The market would be better for everyone at higher prices, but no one wants to be the first -- or worse, the last -- to pay the higher price. But right now, people are finishing off all their old deals. Mills are setting deadlines to close old, open deals. I suspect it's, 'Order this week or else.' Either buyers will participate, or certain mills will break and lower a bit. Time will tell."
Platts maintained its hot-rolled price at $640-650/st and its cold-rolled price at $745-755/st. All prices are normalized to a Midwest (Indiana) ex-works basis.
