Pre-holiday steel prices may weaken amid stagnant market activity

Ferrous metal prices dipped last week. On January 31, the Bureau of Statistics announced the manufacturing PMI was 49.2 in January. On February 1, the Fed announced its first interest rate resolution in 2024. FOMC meeting announcement and Powell's speech clearly unveiled hawkish signal, blunting market sentiment. The news and pre-holiday capital risk aversion weighed down ferrous metal prices last week.

Looking forward, steel markets in various regions will be close for the holidays this week, the last week before the holidays. Unbalanced fundamentals of finished products, the end of stockpiling of steel mills and waning raw material support may further fuel market sentiment bearishness. Ferrous metal market may still swing on a subdued note this week.