The most commonly heard spot price transaction range for US domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) has continued to trend at $27.00-$29.50 cwt. ($595-$650/mt or $540-$590/nt), ex-mill, although sources close to SteelOrbis feel that the recently announced $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt) price increase will prevent the spot market from slipping any further.
“In the current market, the first increase stops things from falling further; once mills are able to build a backlog of orders they announce number two, which seems to be the one that sticks.”
Other sources say that deals toward the lower end of that range are becoming fewer and farther between.
“The mills see the writing on the wall with the 232 investigations and once that announcement comes out, if it’s favorable, they’re going to want to get prices up quickly,” another source said. “You almost never see a price increase announcement come out in June. July and August, sure, but June almost never happens.”