Plate prices in the United States dropped further in the week to Friday June 7, while market participants maintained bearish outlooks givenfalling hot-rolled coil and ferrous scrap prices.
Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for domestic cut-to-length plate stood at $40 per hundredweight ($800 per short ton) on Friday, down by 1.2% from $40.50 per cwt a week earlier and the lowest since mid-February 2018.Sources reported that material availability was "not a problem" at mills, with lead times averaging three to four weeks.While Fastmarkets received inputs in a range of roughly $38-41.50 per cwt in the week to June 7 - unchanged from the week before - sources agreed that prices had fallen further.The lower end of the price range represents an estimate made by a plate end-user source, while the higher end of the price range came from a small-tonnage deal concluded in late May. Buyer sources who spoke with Fastmarkets blamed plate mills for the price drops, noting...