It’s been a little more than week since US flat rolled steel mills announced a market-wide $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) price increase, yet sources close to SteelOrbis say that HRC prices have yet to move upward.
“We’ll give the mills an A for effort, but the increase hasn’t done much to move the market,” a source said. “Did they need to announce something to prevent the market from going any lower? Absolutely. Do we think it will be accepted in the absence of increased demand or higher scrap prices? No.”
Buyers and sellers throughout the US say they’re keeping all eyes on US scrap prices for November. If scrap prices do begin to firm, US HRC prices are likely follow. For now, US domestic HRC prices are stable at $23.00-$24.00 cwt. ($507-$529/mt or $460-$480/nt), ex-mill.