SteelOrbis has learned that Cleveland-Cliffs has announced they’ll be raising current spot market base prices for all carbon hot rolled, cold rolled and coated steel products by a minimum of $5.00 cwt. ($110/mt or $100/nt), effective immediately with all new orders. According to the announcement, Cliffs’ new minimum base price for hot rolled steel has been revised to $65 cwt. ($1,433/mt or $1,300/nt), FOB mill.
This marks a huge jump from the last week of February, when Cliffs announced new minimum HRC pricing at $45 cwt. ($992/mt or $900/nt), FOB mill. If today's increase is accepted, the new price point would reflect a $20 cwt. ($441/mt or $400/nt) increase over price points seen during the first week of March.
As of late-Friday last week, SteelOrbis reported that US HRC prices were trending at approximately $55-$58 cwt. ($1,213-$1,279/mt or $1,100-$1,160/nt), FOB mill. Whether today's increase will gain traction has yet to be determined.