The U.S. flat steel market accelerated its decline in October. In October, the prices of hot rolled steel coil, cold rolled steel plate, hot-dip galvanized plate and medium and heavy plate in the United States dropped by $53, $61, $88 and $55 respectively from last month, to $573, $749, $738 and $760 respectively. Hot rolling steel prices in the United States have fallen about 20% since August, reaching a three-year low.
Steel trade protection measures once protected American steel enterprises, but affected by the general decline in the international market, the domestic market of the United States also declined with the international market. Due to the overall good performance of the domestic market in the United States, American steel mills are also expanding their production capacity.
In order to prevent further steel price decline, American steel mills show signs of raising prices again. At the end of October, ArcelorMittal USA announced an increase in the price of sheet metal. The company informed customers that the price of light sheet metal and sheet metal products would be increased by $40 / short ton, and the new price would take effect immediately. Shortly after that, NLMK USA took the same approach, informing its customers that the base price of spot orders for all products rose by $40 / short ton, with immediate effect. Under the active intervention of steel mills, the US flat steel market is expected to stabilize and recover in November.
