In this week's Market Movers Americas, presented by Laura Robb:
• Upward momentum seen in US steel market
• North American import rates stabilize after 10-month drop
• Committee to decide on EDAM phase three final proposal
• PJM to provide winter storm market impact review
This week, the US steel market expects more bullishness after an optimistic start to 2023. The Platts assessment for shredded scrap, a key steelmaking input, surpassed $400/long ton during the January buy week for the first time since October. The uptick has boosted the price of other products such as hot-rolled coil, with rebar expected to follow.
In container shipping, North American import rates from North Asia have steadied after falling about 80% in 2022. Port schedule reliability will improve as delays clear, but spot rates remain under pressure as demand stays low and carriers compete for limited volumes. Carriers will add about 11.3% in vessel capacity this year, while demand is only expected to grow 1.9%.
In power, the Western Energy Imbalance Market's Governance Review Committee is set to decide on phase three of the revised draft final proposal for the Extended Day-Ahead Market on Monday. And on the other side of the country, PJM Interconnection, the power grid operator for 65 million East Coast residents, will provide a review on Wednesday of operational challenges and market impacts during December's Winter Storm Elliott. PJM asked customers to conserve electricity due to high demand, and power prices spiked above $1,000/MWh Dec. 23.
I'm Laura Robb. Thanks for kicking off your Monday with S&P Global Commodity Insights.