US SBQ prices up on ferrous scrap gains; 2020 starts slow

Rising ferrous scrap costs have nudged special bar quality (SBQ) steel spot prices upward in the United States, while sentiment among market participants has been weak to start the year, Fastmarkets has learned.

On the hot-rolled side of the market, Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel bar hot-rolled special bar quality (SBQ) 1-inch round 1000 series (carbon), fob mill US rose to $35 per hundredweight ($700 per short ton) on Friday January 10, up by 2.9% from $34 per cwt previously.
On the cold-finished side, Fastmarkets' concurrent assessment for steel bar cold-finished 1-inch round 1018 (carbon), fob mill US climbed to $55 per cwt ($1,100 per ton), a 2.8% increase from the previous assessment of $53.50 per cwt.

Sources put lead times for cold-finished material at two to six weeks and for hot-rolled...

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