Rumors of yet another price increase continue to swirl throughout the US flat steel market, but buyers and sellers of US domestic CRC question whether an announced increase would reach acceptance.
For now, domestic spot market prices are still trending in the range of $40-$42 cwt. ($882-$926/mt or $800-$840/nt), ex-mill; import offers from Vietnam and Russia are being sold in the range of $37-$38 cwt. ($816-$838/mt or $740-$760/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports.
Despite the price differential between domestic and import, some trader sources are saying there’s not much interest in booking offshore.
“There’s some question about the direction of the domestic market. Is there room for things to go up, or are things about to switch direction? There isn’t any evidence that prices are going to spike, but there’s no evidence that we’re heading toward a disaster,” a source said. “But we think the second quarter will be unexciting and we expect prices will start to come down during the summer, as usual.”