The most commonly reported spot price transaction range for US domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) has firmed by approximately $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) on the low end since our last report a week ago, bringing the current average transaction range to $31-$32 cwt. ($683-$705/mt or $620-$640/nt), ex-Midwest mill. Sources close to SteelOrbis have confirmed that while US domestic mills “seem to be kicking the tires” with customers in terms of trying to push prices higher, an official price increase announcement has not been rolled out.
Many question whether the final determinations in the still-pending trade case will continue to push prices higher due to decreased availability of imports.
May 31 data from the US Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance shows that for the month of March, the US imported 181,503 mt (census data) of HRC; in March 2015, that number reached 271,082 mt.
May 31 data from the US Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance shows that for the month of March, the US imported 181,503 mt (census data) of HRC; in March 2015, that number reached 271,082 mt.
Some, however, have expressed concern that still-firming HRC spot market prices could open the door for countries that have not been named in the antidumping/countervailing duty case to start aggressively pursuing orders from the US market.
One trader source said that he has heard US sales prices for import HRC from Turkey, Egypt and Argentina in the range of $27-$28 cwt. ($595-$613/mt or $540-$560/nt), “the big question is how much below domestic sales prices offshore mills will have to be in order to get orders. At this point it seems that customers aren’t really willing to entertain anything that’s about $26 cwt.”