The steel market in June

摘要

A "correction" to rising prices in the USA may be inevitable but it has shown no sign of happening yet. Coil and plate prices are still increasing strongly. Long product prices are stable, still ahead of 2005. Although the growth of manufacturing has slowed, demand is still growing. Personal consumption spending may be faltering but the economy seems to have made the transition to investment-driven growth, which provides a good basis for this year's steel consumption. The market has absorbed large tonnages of imports without any disturbance to the upward trend in prices. There seems to be enough demand for everybody, so foreign steelmakers see no need to offer discounts. They are asking much the same prices for their products as domestic steelmakers, in some cases asking for higher prices, so that they seem to be supporting rather than undermining prices.