US domestic CRC prices have firmed by $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) on the bottom end of the spot range since our last report a week ago, to $42-$43 cwt. ($926-$948/mt or $840-$860/nt), ex-mill. The price firming comes on the heels of mills’ latest flat rolled steel price increase.
Sources continue to report that the price firming is supply-based, as import arrivals are expected to be depressed for the first half of the year. Current price points are expected to be temporary, as additional upward revisions are projected through the first and quite possibly second quarters of 2018.
Looking offshore, import pricing has remained stable week-over-week, as prices for US import CRC from Egypt, Turkey and Australia continue to trend at $37-$39 cwt ($816-$860/mt or $740-$780/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports.