Metals upsets, offsets, and onsets in 2007

摘要

Metal fabricators should see price relief on U.S. carbon steel hot-rolled band prices going into the first quarter of 2007, with prices expected to bottom out at 500 dollars to 540 dollars per ton early in the first quarter, depending on the mill source. In February through April, prices should begin to rebound to highs of 570 dollars to 620 dollars per ton by late in the second quarter, as seasonal demand returns, inventory reductions revert, and mill production cuts take effect, predicts Patrick McCormick, World Steel Dynamics (WSD) managing partner (see Figure 1).