How long will US CRC prices continue to rise?

Thursday, 21 April 2016 22:16:06 (GMT+3)   |   San Diego
       

The most commonly reported spot prices transaction range for US domestic cold rolled coil has firmed by approximately $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt) since our last report a week ago, which brings the current average spot price transaction range to $33.50-$35.00 cwt. ($739-$772/mt or $670-$700/nt), ex-Midwest mill.   Spot prices for US CRC have firmed by approximately $3.00 cwt. ($66/mt or $60/nt) in the past two weeks.

Although some service center sources have reported an uptick in buying activity due to thinning inventories, sentiment regarding the market is mixed.  On one hand, some buyers have said they believe prices will continue to firm into the summer and that even if US scrap prices start to wobble, as some scrap market sources speculate, that US flat rolled steel prices are unlikely to tumble back down due to lack of competition from imports.

Others say they are being more cautious because they feel that current upticks in US CRC pricing may be a temporary phenomenon, which is largely driven by upticks in flats mills’ input costs.

In terms of current futures offers, US import CRC prices from Vietnamese steelmakers continue to be heard at approximately $590-$600/mt CFR, DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports, unchanged in the past week. Turkish import CRC offer prices are also lateral week-on-week and are still being heard in the approximate range of $615-$625/mt CFR, DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports.

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