Last week, US domestic flats mills announced a $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) effective for all new orders; spot market prices, however, remain unchanged and continue to trend at approximately $28-$29 cwt. ($617-$639/mt or $560-$580/nt), ex-Midwest mill.
The slide has definitely stopped, according to sources, and while many are happy to see mills’ attempt to firm the market, no one wants to be the first one to pay higher prices. Definitive firing is not anticipated to emerge until the end of the month, if not the early part of June.
In terms of futures offers, prices from Russian and Brazilian mills are said to have grown increasingly malleable and have fallen in line with offer prices from Chinese producers. Chinese mills are said to be offering deals slightly below their average range based on tonnages, and although this is garnering the attention of several US-based traders, others cite a reluctance to book anything out of China until the trade case situation becomes clearer.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic | ||||
| Ex-Midwest mill | ||||
| CRC | $28-$29 | $617-$639 | $560-$580 | neutral |
| Brazil* | ||||
| CRC | $25-$27 | $551-$595 | $500-$540 | down $1.00 cwt. |
| India* | ||||
| CRC | $28-$29 | $617-$639 | $560-$580 | neutral |
| Russia* | ||||
| CRC | $25-$27 | $551-$595 | $500-$540 | down $1.00 cwt. |
| China* | ||||
| CRC | $25-$27 | $551-$595 | $500-$540 | neutral with deals |
| *DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports | ||||