Scrap market sources throughout the US say they still believe that March settled prices are likely to tick downward.
Similar to Monday of this week, the broad expectation is that cut grades and shredded are likely to tick down by $20-$30/gt in most parts of the US, whereas prime grade scrap could potentially soften by as much as $40-$50/gt.
“I think primes are down $40-50 in the Midwest with other grades down $30/gt,” one source said, adding that he believes prices in the Southern US will be down $30-$40/gt on primes, and down $20/gt on other grades.
Another source agreed, noting he believes that the deepest cut in prime grade scrap prices will likely be in Chicago and Detroit, and that he would not be surprised to see down $40/gt for primes in those regions.
A final source in the Northeast indicated their preliminary thought is that shredded and P&S in that region will be down by $20/gt, whereas primes could be down by $30-$40/gt.
The March buy cycle is expected to start by the middle of next week.