Price decreases have continued to resonate through the US domestic flats market, and US cold rolled coil prices seem to have fallen in in line. The most commonly reported spot price transaction range has softened by about $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) on the low end since our last report a week ago, bringing the current range to approximately $33.00-$35.00 cwt. ($727-772/mt or $660-$700/nt) ex-Midwest mill. The trend for CRC is similar to that seen for hot rolled coil; inventories are healthy and buyers are holding off on making purchases unless they absolutely need it until they feel the market has stabilized. Offshore tons booked in the latter part of 2014 have also started to arrive at the docks and at this point, no one is in any hurry to book new orders.
In terms of offshore offers, prices from China have ticked down by $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt) in the past seven days, and trader sources say Brazilian producers are open to matching the Chinese range should US buyers have an interest in booking larger tonnages.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic | ||||
| Ex-Midwest mill | ||||
| CRC | $33-$35 | $727-$772 | $660-$700 | down $1.00 cwt on the low end |
| Brazil* | ||||
| CRC | $30.50-$31.50 | $672-$694 | $610-$630 | neutral, but willing to match Chinese offers on larger orders |
| Russia* | ||||
| CRC | $30.50-$31.50 | $672-$694 | $610-$630 | new offer |
| China* | ||||
| CRC | $29-30 | $639-$661 | $580-$600 | down $1.50 cwt. |
| India* | ||||
| CRC | $32.00-$33.00 | $706-$727 | $640-$660 | neutral with deals |
| *DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports | ||||