ArcelorMittal and AK Steel Corporation have both announced they will be raising prices on
US domestic cold rolled coil (
CRC); it’s expected that the remaining
US flats mills will announce in the near future.
A number of market players say they were shocked by the ArcelorMittal announcement, which set a new, $40.00 cwt. ($882/mt or $800/nt) base-price for
US CRC. Current spot market prices, which have firmed by approximately $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) on the low end since our last report a week ago are currently been seen in the approximate range of $35-$36 cwt. ($772-$794/mt or $700-$720/nt), ex-Midwest mill.
It should also be noted that while AK Steel announced they would be increasing
CRC spot market prices by $3.00 cwt. ($66/mt or $60/nt) effective with all new orders, they did not set a new minimum base price.
Many said they expected
flats mills would push for another price increase due to price firming within the
US domestic scrap market during the May buy cycle. Although many believed that
US CRC prices would trend upward until they reached a peak of $40.00 cwt. ($882/mt or $800/nt), “none of
us thought mills would try to push for that number right now.”