Prices for carbon steel plate in the United States strengthened for the first time in three weeks while distributors mostly failed in attempts to book spot deals before the next round of anticipated price increases from mills.
Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US was at $69.50 per hundredweight ($1,390 per short ton) on Friday June 4, up by 0.72% from $69 per cwt on May 28 and the highest level since the fall of 2008.Market participants continued to report a lack of widespread official spot offerings from mills, with service centers still unsure of whether they will be allocated more tons when mills formally open order books for...