New Report Preview – Steel Market

Our Advance/Decliner Index jumped to 89% this week from 83% last week as pricing finally began to strengthen in China.  Our China Index rose from 33% to a 5-month high of 55%, as Chinese steelmakers raised export prices which will likely support higher pricing elsewhere.

Our Ex-China Index stayed high, rising nominally from 91% to 92%. Broad-based pricing gains continue to be driven by rising scrap prices and the anticipation of seasonally stronger 1Q demand, in our view.  In the US, Severstal “officially” announced another sheet hike – $30/ton – that will lift hot-rolled list prices to $770/ton – compared with actual prices of $720-750/ton currently.

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