North American steel prices continued to trend downwards in July, however, there is increasing optimism that the pricing spiral may soon be coming to an end. Over the past month, HR prices fell a further 50 dollars/ton to around 430-450 dollars/ton, as did CR prices which slipped to 520-540 dollars/ton by the end of July. HDG prices fell by an even greater 60 dollars/ton, pushing prices down to an average of 560 dollars/ton. However, there are signs that prices have stabilised and may have finally reached a floor after eleven months of decline. Scrap prices are rising - driven primarily by increased demand from overseas buyers - but will see further gains as domestic mills increase scrap purchases as they prepare to ramp up output. US mills have successfully curtailed output - with average capacity utilisation rates falling to 81 percent in July - but with mills expecting improving demand from September onwards, output will again be rising in the coming weeks.
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