The mid-March $2.00-$3.00 cwt. ($44-$66/mt or $40-$60/nt) price increase that was rolled out by US domestic flats mills seems to have come and gone without much fanfare, and the most commonly reported spot price transaction range has held in the same range seen just one week ago. Order activity and inquiries are healthy, according to sources, but not strong enough to garner bumping prices up to the $39.50 cwt. ($871/mt or $790/nt) level that domestic mills were pushing for. This, however, could change as the month moves on, as a previously forecast $15-$20/lt downtrend for US domestic scrap prices seems to have done a complete 180. If scrap prices do indeed firm for April buys, mills may be able to get some, but likely not all, of the increase they hoped for.
Meanwhile, prices for offshore CRC have, for the most part, trended sideways in the past weeks, although trader sources say bookings from China have softened by approximately $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) in the past seven days.
Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
US domestic | ||||
Ex-Midwest mill | ||||
CRC | $36.50-$37.50 | $805-$827 | $730-$750 | neutral |
China* | ||||
CRC | $32.50-$33.50 | $717-$739 | $650-$670 | neutral |
India* | ||||
CRC | $36.00-$37.00 | $794-$816 | $720-$740 | neutral |
*DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports |