North America-Relatively flat scrap movements result in flat long products prices

摘要

Prices in the long products market have remained relatively flat this month as continued weakness in the construction sector resulted in subdued end-use demand. Additionally, as adequate supplies of both prime and obsolete grades remain in place, scrap costs rose only slightly with July transactions despite relatively strong mill demand. In fact, steel production in the USA climbed through mid-July with capacity utilisation rates reaching 76.8%, a level not seen since October 2009. Output fell back later in the month, however, and raw steel production as a percentage of installed capacity sank to 74.8% before rebounding slightly towards the end of the month.