US domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) spot prices have experienced a $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) price correction since our last report a week ago, bringing current offer prices into relative step with offer prices from offshore producers. “Everyone expected this was coming,” according to one Midwest-based source. “Customers smelled the blood in the water, they stopped buying and the domestic mills started revising their offers.” Demand, however, is still pretty decent, and as it stands, HRC pricing seems to have settled alongside the “down $60/nt” trend that was seen for US domestic scrap between October and January. Although many feel that hot rolled prices have not yet reached bottom, it’s strongly suspected this will happen between now and February.
Today, the most commonly reported spot price transaction range for US domestic HRC is now trending in the approximate range of $28.00-$29.00 cwt. ($617-$639/mt or $560-$580/nt) ex-Midwest mill, while offshore futures offers continue to trend sideways.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic | ||||
| Ex-Midwest mill | ||||
| HRC | $28-$29 | $617-$639 | $560-$580 | down $2.00 cwt. |
| Turkey* | ||||
| HRC | $27.50-$28.50 | $606-$628 | $550-$570 | neutral |
| Japan* | ||||
| HRC | $27-$28 | $595-$617 | $540-$560 | neutral |
| Australia* | ||||
| HRC | $28-$29 | $617-$639 | $560-$580 | neutral but flexible |
| Brazil* | ||||
| HRC | $28-$29 | $639-$661 | $580-$600 | neutral but flexible |
| *DDP loaded truck US Gulf Coast ports | ||||