US CRC spot market “likely” to see additional corrections

The most commonly heard spot price transaction range for US domestic cold rolled coil (CRC) may have held sideways since our last report a week ago, at $36-$38 cwt. ($794-$816/mt or $720-$740/nt). However, sources close to SteelOrbis have indicated an uptick in transactions “toward the middle end of that range” for average-buyers, while volume sized buyers continue to obtain deals.

“It’s hard to say where this will bottom out,” one source said, adding that with the approach of Q4, which tends to go hand-in-hand with a slowdown in order placement, that prices “are likely to see additional corrections before we see a floor.”

Looking offshore, futures offer prices from Turkish and Vietnamese mills for US import CRC, continue to be heard in the approximate range of $29-$30 cwt. ($639-$661/mt or $580-$600/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports, unchanged in the past week.  Sept. 20 data from the US Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance indicates that current US import CRC totals from the month of September have been recorded at 133,270 mt (license data) with the most significant offshore source being Vietnam, at 25,357 mt.