The most commonly reported ex-Midwest mill spot price transaction range for US domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) may be unchanged in the past week, at approximately $25.00-$26.00 cwt. ($551-$573/mt or $500-$520/nt), ex-Midwest mill, but sources close to SteelOrbis say that US domestic mills are “already testing the waters” in terms of another price increase.
US domestic scrap prices are forecast to firm between $10-$30/mt ($10-$30/gt) during the May buy cycle; once scrap prices go up it’s believed that US domestic flats mills will announce their next price increase.
Some sources close to SteelOrbis have indicated a belief that prices “could eventually settle up between $80-$100/nt before the HRC spot market finally hits a ceiling,” adding that offshore import offers are “few and far between.”
In term of current import tonnages, April 26 data from the US Department of Commerce, Enforcement of Compliance shows that for the month of March, the US imported 181,502 mt (preliminary census data) of HRC. The most significant offshore source for US import HRC in March was Korea, at 43,670 mt (preliminary census data). In comparison, the US imported 271,082 mt (census data) of HRC in March 2015.