The most commonly reported spot price transaction range for US domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) has ticked down by about $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) since our last report a week ago, bringing the new average range to about $31.00-$32.00 cwt. ($683-$705/mt or $620-$640/nt) ex-Midwest mill.
Although some camps believe that flats prices will hold steady into 2015, citing a belief that demand will help hold the market steady, others aren’t so sure, and point to the strength in the US dollar has prices for US finished steel products trending $4.00-5.00 cwt. ($88-$110/mt or $80-$100/nt) above offshore offerings. “There will come a point where domestic buyers simply won’t want to pay a premium for steel just because it was made in the US,” he said. This, compounded by soft US scrap and iron ore prices, has others questioning if the US domestic flats market will tick down a few more notches before it reaches bottom.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic | ||||
| Ex-Midwest mill | ||||
| HRC | $31-$32 | $683-$705 | $620-$640 | down $1.00 cwt. |
| Turkey* | ||||
| HRC | $27.50-$28.50 | $606-$628 | $550-$570 | neutral |
| Australia* | ||||
| HRC | $28-$29 | $617-$639 | $560-$580 | down $0.50 cwt. |
| Brazil* | ||||
| HRC | $28-$29 | $639-$661 | $580-$600 | down $1.00 cwt. |
| *DDP loaded truck US Gulf Coast ports | ||||