US domestic CRC market holds steady, for now

The biggest shake up for US domestic flats market products, including US domestic cold rolled coil (CRC) is the February degradation in US scrap prices.  That market is soft, according to industry insiders, and it’s believed that additional erosion will take place when mills re-enter the market in early March.

And while the current spot market prices for US CRC have held steady week-on-week, still at approximately to $31.00-$33.00 cwt. ($683-$727/mt or $620-$660/nt) ex-Midwest mill, the general consensus is that “additional downticks are coming.”  Thus, as with buyers in other market segments throughout the US steel industries, purchasing agents are being tight with their purse strings and are stepping away from the market “unless they absolutely need something because everyone is waiting to see when this thing hits bottom.”