Prices for most imported flat-rolled and plate products in the United States have moved up as a result of steel prices rising both internationally and domestically, yet interest in importing remained low due to still weak - although improved - demand.
Sources recognized that strong demand from China while the East Asian country gradually recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in limited semi-finished and finished steel supply around the globe.
The Chinese government has announced a major economic stimulus package, targeting infrastructure capital expenditure and employment tax cuts, which could be a clear positive sign for most commodity markets, metals included, according to a research note from Morgan Stanley dated Monday June 8.
"China is consuming steel again and keeping prices in Asia up," one Gulf Coast trader source said.
As a result, steel prices have gone up in many countries and regions around the globe, which pushed US import prices higher for some flat-rolled steel products.
"World prices have been heating up for the past two weeks," according to one East Coast trader source.
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