Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor’s Consumer Spot Price (CSP) -the posted price it charges for hot-rolled coils across all of its mills- was reported flat during this holiday week, with posted prices reported by the mill steady following last week’s ninth straight reported price increase, the steel maker said in a letter to its customers.
This week’s CSP was reported steady at $950/nt ($1,047/mt), or $47.50/cwt., up from $940/nt ($1,036/mt), or $47.00/cwt., two weeks prior. Prior to the last nine weeks of steady Nucor price increases, the last time the CSP price rose was during the week of Aug. 25, when the CSP rose $10/nt to $875/nt. The price remained stable at that level for eight weeks, despite persistent upward movement in local HRC spot market pricing as reported by SteelOrbis.
Nucor’s California Steel Industries (CSI) base price, which also remained steady for nine consecutive weeks, stands at $1,000/nt ($1,102/mt) or $50.00/cwt., up from $990/nt ($1,091/mt), or $49.50/cwt., two weeks earlier.
Nucor’s rising CSP price comes amid continued reports of slight improvements in domestic finished steel demand and tight mill inventories as a result of sharp reductions in US flat steel imports. As domestic mills increase their productive output to make up for a continued lack of imports, insiders say lead times are lengthening and order books are filling faster than during previous months. While Nucor says to customers it can fill CSP spot HRC orders in 3-5 weeks, some insiders reported to SteelOrbis that lead times for new flat steel rolling from other mills and suppliers have lengthened to 8-12 weeks, up from 8-10 weeks several weeks earlier.
Increased steel material input costs in the form of scrap, also are supportive for finished steel prices, insiders said. January ferrous scrap is forecast to trade steady to as much as 50/gt ($51/mt) over recent December scrap settles, which were sideways to $20/gt higher during last month’s December buy-cycle trade. Flat steel benchmark US Midwest busheling scrap settled recently $20/gt higher at $395-405/gt, or $401-411/mt.
In spot market trade prior to the US Christmas holiday, the SteelOrbis spot average price for hot-rolled coils on an FOB mill basis, rose $10/nt following an earlier $5/nt increase to $910/nt., ($1,003/mt), or $45.50/cwt., up from the previous week’s $900/nt ($992/mt), or $45.00/cwt., a week earlier.
