New York (Platts)--1Mar2011/441 pm EST/2141 GMT
The Platts price assessment for shredded ferrous scrap was unchanged Tuesday at a midpoint of $455/lt delivered to Midwest mills as the first March numbers came in and sources called for a sideways domestic market this month. One Northeast scrap broker/dealer heard a buy at $450/lt delivered, the lower boundary of the Platts range of $450-460/lt delivered mill. The source said he thought that was a good buy and that prices would likely not go any lower. In fact, the source said he thought the March number would remain fairly constant at $455/lt delivered, with perhaps the slightest upside potential. "I think the number will be $455/lt or very close," he said. "There could be an opportunity for a $460/lt." He added that any sideways buys would be good buys, in his opinion, as demand in his region appeared strong enough to support current price levels. "There is a lot of demand out there," he said. Northeast mills are largely producing flat rolled steel, special bar quality steel, and electrical and energy sector steels -- all products that are selling well and for which production has ticked up, requiring more scrap to melt. "What we don't have here is rebar," he said, a product less in demand than the others. An Ohio Valley scrap dealer voiced similar opinions. "The mills here have pretty good demand," he said. "The mills are looking at a longer month and need to buy more scrap. Everybody who has come to us wants to buy more tons than last month, and February inbounds weren't good." Though the source had also heard of a sale at $450/lt delivered Midwest, he suggested this might be the lower boundary for March. "I think it will end up sideways -- prices are pretty strong and I don't think guys will fight that hard over $5," he said. Two weeks ago, many scrap sources were talking about a March market down as much as $20/lt, the same as February, after a rousing $70/lt gain in January to $475/lt delivered, the recent high water mark for domestic shredded ferrous scrap. Another Northeast dealer, however, said that $20 figure then shrank quickly to $10 and then $5 over the next seven to 10 days, leaving him to also predict a sideways market for March, though he had yet to complete any sales. --Matthew Lerner, matthew_lerner@platts.comSimilar stories appear in Steel Markets Daily. See more information at http://bit.ly/SteelMarketsDaily