Spot market prices for US domestic cold rolled coil (CRC) have declined by $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) since our last report a week ago, from $40-$42 cwt. ($882-$926/mt or $800-$840/nt), ex-mill to $39-$41 cwt. ($860-$904/mt or $780-$820/nt), ex-mill.
Sources have confirmed that buyers are reluctant to book beyond what’s immediately needed out of concern that prices will continue to soften. “No one is booking volume,” a source said. “Everyone is buying cautiously.”
In terms of imports, although the average US import CRC from offshore sources, such as Vietnam and Russia are still trending at $37-$38 cwt. ($816-$838/mt or $740-$760/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports, “domestic mills have been willing and able to match those prices to get the orders. There’s not a whole lot of interest in booking tons that won’t arrive for a few months, when you can get the steel for the same price, at much shorter lead times, in the US.”
It’s currently believed that US CRC prices may level, for the next few weeks, before revising downward toward the end of Q2.