Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor’s Consumer Spot Price (CSP) -the posted price it charges for hot-rolled coils (HRC) across all of its regional mills- was reported higher yet again this week, posting another $5/nt ($5/mt) rise to bring the weekly CSP price to $980/gt, ($1,080/mt), or $49.00/cwt., up from $975/nt ($1,075/mt) or $48.75/cwt., one week ago.
Insiders said continued strength in the CSP price is reflective of a combination of steady finished steel demand, more limited availability of finished supplies as a result of ongoing steel tariffs, and rising scrap prices as February scrap saw $20-30/gt gains during recent buy-cycle negotiations.
Steel market insiders told SteelOrbis US spot supplies of finished steel have remained under pressure recently from a lack of steel imports-the result of ongoing 50 percent Section 232 steel import tariffs- put in place by US President Trump in early June.
In weekly HRC spot markets, the weekly SteelOrbis HRC price average price closed the week ended Feb. 6 up another $8.00/nt to $980/nt, $1,080/mt) or $49/cwt., up from $972/nt ($1,071/mt), or $48.60/cwt., one week earlier.
On the import side, industry data continues to show imports at reduced levels.
While actual flat steel imports for February won’t be available for several months, initial flat steel import license requests from the Washington, DC.-based International Trade Administration’s (ITA) US Steel Import Monitor, indicate flat steel import licenses requests fell 67.4 percent for February to about 1,400 metric tons (mt), from the 4,300 mt recorded during January.
Nucor’s California Steel Industries (CSI) base price, which also remained steady for nine consecutive weeks, also rose another $5/nt this week following another $5/nt rise a week earlier, to $1,030/nt ($1,135/mt), or $51.50/cwt., Nucor said in its weekly letter to customers.