Steel scrap prices in April
The bullish sentiment held the Trend Indicator in positive territory with a reading of 58.8 for April, down from 65.2 for March. The Outlook’s prediction model suggests that steel scrap prices have the potential to rise by an average of 6.3% in April.
That expectation comes amid reports that steel mills were unable to fully cover all their requirements in March, with domestic steel scrap inventory levels depleted in the wake of robust domestic and overseas demand in recent weeks.
Market responds to rising steel scrap prices
Just over half of respondents to the survey expected prices to rise in April, while 28% said that prices would trade sideways. More than one third of respondents said that stronger demand would be the main driver behind the upswing in prices, while just under 20% anticipated unchanged market conditions, and a similar amount expected demand to weaken compared with March.
Prime steel scrap prices are due to outperform their obsolete and shredded counterparts once again in April, while the overall trend consensus fell to 57% compared with 61% in March, suggesting confidence in the market’s direction has softened.
Make sense of the US steel scrap market and track the critical indicators impacting price movements in our April outlook.
