Ever-declining import prices combined with the “end-of-year-slowdown” and large amounts of recently-arrived import tonnages have started to take a toll on US domestic cold rolled coil (CRC) spot prices. The most commonly reported spot price transaction range has ticked down by about $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) since our last report a week ago, to $36.00-$37.00 cwt. ($794-$816/mt or $720-$740/nt), although sources close to SteelOrbis have confirmed that deals slightly below that range are available in certain regions of the country.
China’s offer prices have also ticked down a notch since our last report a week ago, although few if any are surprised those mills are hungry for orders. “Just about every trader had backed away from selling Chinese cold rolled because everyone was freaking out about a trade case, but now that the big-worry seems to be over, people are back to selling and it seems that China has a backlog of inventory they’re looking to move.”
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic | ||||
| Ex-Midwest mill | ||||
| CRC | $36.00-$37.00 | $794-$816 | $720-$740 | down $0.50 cwt. w/ deals |
| Brazil* | ||||
| CRC | $32.00-$33.00 | $706-$727 | $640-$660 | neutral |
| China* | ||||
| CRC | $30.50-$31.50 | $672-$694 | $610-$630 | down $0.50 cwt. w/ deals |
| India* | ||||
| CRC | $33.00-$34.00 | $728-$750 | $660-$680 | neutral |
| *DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports | ||||