Has this week’s US CRC price increase gained traction?

Thursday, 21 February 2019 00:05:03 (GMT+3)   |   San Diego
       

In the past 48 hours, Nucor, AMUSA and US Steel have announced they would be raising prices on all flat rolled steel products, including US CRC, by a minimum of $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt), effective with all new orders.

This is the second price increase attempt by flats mills this year; the initial announcement did not gain full acceptance, but it did firm prices on the low end of the range, and it served to end “low-ball deals” that had been available to volume buyers.

Whether the current increase will gain full acceptance has yet to be known. Sources close to SteelOrbis have reported that the current spot market range for US CRC remains at $40-$41 ($882-$904/mt or $800-$820/nt), ex-mill, although a handful of sources have indicated that some buyers are paying $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) higher. Sources have also indicated that these higher-priced transactions are currently seen as outlier deals and are not representative of the market as a whole.

Sources say they suspect US prices may begin to climb; this trend would reportedly be attributed less to happenings in the domestic market, and more about price momentum in the global markets. SteelOrbis’ prior prediction was that US flat rolled steel prices would firm slightly before the end of Q1, with increases of up to $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) above end-Q1 levels taking place in Q2.

 


Similar articles

US sheet prices tick up modestly ahead of Easter weekend

28 Mar | Scrap & Raw Materials

Flat steel prices in local Taiwanese market - week 13, 2024

28 Mar | Flats and Slab

Ex-India HDG and CRC prices edge down, trade remains in doldrums

28 Mar | Flats and Slab

Ex-China CRC offer prices fail to recover amid futures price drop

27 Mar | Flats and Slab

CRC consumption in Mexico up 23.4 percent in January

26 Mar | Steel News

CRC import price offers stable in Brazil

25 Mar | Flats and Slab

Indian CRC prices stable amid thin trading and negative manufacturing outlook

25 Mar | Flats and Slab

Stocks of main finished steel products in China down 0.6 percent in mid-March

25 Mar | Steel News

US flats source believe HRC prices are “at or near the bottom”

22 Mar | Flats and Slab

Romania’s sole flats mill cuts HRC prices, raises HDG and PPGI prices

22 Mar | Flats and Slab