While decreasing raw material costs have driven special bar quality (SBQ) prices down by $1.50 per hundredweight ($30 per short ton) across all grades, most sources offered an optimistic forecast for the year ahead.
Fastmarkets AMM's assessment for 1-inch round 1000 series (carbon) hot-rolled bar was $43.50 per cwt ($870 per ton) fob mill on Friday January 11, down 3.3% from $45 per cwt previously but still up 6.1% from $41 per cwt one year ago.Likewise, the assessment for 1-inch round 1018 (carbon) cold-finished bar dropped to $62 per cwt ($1,240 per ton) fob mill, down 2.4% from $63.50 per cwt previously but up 8.8% from $57 per cwt at this time last year.Market sentiment unmoved by scrap correctionThe price of No1 busheling scrap in Chicago fell by $30 per gross ton in the January trade, marking the first time since 2006 that January's ferrous scrap prices have started out the year in negative territory.Despite that decline, the majority of sources who spoke with Fastmarkets AMM said the SBQ market started off the year on a strong note, highlighting robust consumption from several key sectors....