Improving steel demand and reduced imports present upside risks to United States price forecasts recently downgraded as a result of a “higher for longer” outlook for interest rates. 

MEPS International’s US steel market analyst Laura Hodges explored the various factors at play as she shared an overview of an eventful start to 2025 for the US steel market in the latest Market in Minutes podcast episode. The nine-minute episode draws on research for MEPS’s International Steel Review and the latest market developments. 

Hodges told MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe that the country’s market had started as it finished 2024, with low demand supressing steel prices. However, she reported that “signs of life” began to appear in the month that included the inauguration of new US President Donald Trump. Plate prices registered an increase after 12 consecutive months of decline, during January, while wire rod prices rose by USD50 per short ton due to a loss of domestic supply and reduced imports, Hodges revealed. 

She added: “The new administration, led by President Donald Trump, with fewer regulations, should also improve steel demand as we move into 2025.”