Prices for US domestic CRC rock steady

Spot prices for US domestic cold rolled coil (CRC) have held at neutral for the third week in a row, with the most commonly reported transaction range still trending between $38.00-$40.00 cwt. ($838-$882/mt or $760-$800/nt) ex-Midwest mill.  Although some believed mills might try to roll out a third increase this month  after back-to-back price increases at the end of March and beginning of April, suspicion has officially waned now that US domestic scrap prices are holding at soft-sideways.  Order activity and inquiries are on par with where they were a week ago, according to sources, with no signs of big changes on the horizon.

Meanwhile, import prices from China and India have also remained neutral since our last report a week ago, with trader sources continuing to report weak interest in booking significant position tons.  In terms of currently arriving material, the most recent Steel Monitoring Import and Analysis (SIMA) data shows that for the month of April, import tonnages of CRC from China totaled 92,306 mt (license data), with India trailing at 2,255 mt (license data).