Plate prices in the United States have fallen again in the wake of a hot-rolled coil slump, putting the domestic plate market at its lowest point in more than 15 months.
Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for domestic cut-to-length plate dropped sharply week on week, moving to $41.50 per hundredweight ($830 per short ton) on Friday May 24. That price is off by 4.6% from $43.50 per cwt one week earlier and marks the lowest price since Fastmarkets' assessment stood at $40 per cwt in late February 2018, according to Fastmarkets' pricing records.Plate prices were reported at $40.50-42 per cwt, a narrowed range compared with the previous week's $43-46 per cwt.The continued downtrend in domestic plate prices did not surprise many market participants, who had predicted an extended slump given bearish sentiment...