Import offers grow plentiful as US flats prices maintain neutral trend

After weeks of a slow uptrend, US domestic flat rolled prices are stalling with ongoing speculation that mills could announce an increase at any moment. The general expectation was that after the Thanksgiving holiday, lead times would move into the New Year and mills would be able to garner more and more of their two announced increases. However, some mills continue to have some December hot rolled coil (HRC) availability and with the domestic scrap trend for this month no longer pointed decidedly up, US flats buyers are making few purchases and only on an as-needed basis. With the previous upward momentum now lost, rumors of a price increase to firm up spots and prevent prices from slipping backward are increasing. But until mills announce anything official, mills and customers are likely to remain in a standoff, each waiting for the other to make a move.

But while domestic buying activity has slowed substantially over the last week, import purchases have seen a pick-up as new offers are now available. Brazil, Mexico and Turkey are all offering HRC to the US within a similar price level, and trader sources told SteelOrbis that the Brazilian offers at $28.00-$29.00 cwt. ($617-$639/mt or $560-$580/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports for March/April arrival have especially peaked US buyers' interest, after little heard from Brazil in a few months. China, Brazil and Mexico are all also offering cold rolled coil (CRC) to the US, but at prices too high for those not situated near Gulf ports. In general though, the vast majority of buyers booking offshore tons at the moment are near the Gulf, with those further upstream finding freight costs in addition to import prices too high given current uncertainty in the US domestic market.

**DDP loaded truck delivered into Houston