Import and US domestic flat rolled spot prices stay soft under pressure

The US domestic flats market has remained stagnant in the last week as demand continues to dwindle. Though a lull is expected this time of year, sources tell SteelOrbis that things are especially dismal because buyers are waiting for mills to renegotiate contracts for the coming year--something that many are wary of following the rise of CRU-minus contracts in 2013. Because of that, sources say they expect to see a price softening before the year comes to close, but for now, spots are holding steady at last week’s levels: hot rolled coil (HRC) is still in the general range of $31.50-$32.50 cwt. ($705-$728 /mt or $640-$660/nt) ex-Midwest mill and cold rolled coil (CRC) spots at about $36.50-$37.50 cwt. ($805-$827/mt or $730-$750/nt) ex-Midwest mill.

Sources tell SteelOrbis that the shaky US market has a lot of buyers looking overseas for supply. A dip in overseas raw material prices is making import offers especially attractive, sources say. Chinese and Indian CRC offer prices to the US remain soft this week in the approximate range of $33.00-$34.00 cwt. ($728-$772/mt or $660-$620/nt). Sources also say that the trend of buying overseas is only expected to gain steam, which has some predicting that the domestic market may hit a slump, though it’s still too early in the quarter to predict with certainty.