Last week, SteelOrbis reported that Atlas Tube announced they would be raising prices on all new orders of HSS products by $3.00 cwt. ($66/mt or $60/nt), effective for orders shipping July 1.
Current prices, which continue to trend at approximately $43-$44 cwt. ($948-$970/mt or $860-$880/nt), ex-Midwest mill, have risen by $8.50 cwt. ($187/mt or $170/nt) since early-January. The uptrend in
US HSS spot market prices are directly attributed to the price upswing within the
US HRC spot market.
US HRC prices have been on a sharp run-up since the first of the year due to decreased availability of imports, which is tied to the still-pending HRC trade case.
Now, however,
US HRC prices have started to stabilize.
US scrap prices decreased during the June buy cycle and SteelOrbis is predicting that domestic scrap prices are likely to soften again come July.
Although many believe that current
US HSS spot market prices are unlikely to retreat, there is quite a bit of uncertainty as to whether tube mills will succeed in pushing prices higher, due to stable HRC and soft scrap prices.
“The mills are currently quoting the increase but it is meeting some resistance,” a source said. “Mill bookings are down. No one is anxious to replace stock at these numbers”
“Right now everyone seems to be holding steady with the most recent increases,” another source added. “No one has buckled. The HSS mills are adamant about the increases and say the flat rolled producers are sticking to their guns. They are not sure about any new increases, but are confident about the current ones.”