US domestic flats prices on the rise with no sign of stopping

US domestic cold rolled coil (CRC) prices are climbing after several mills announced markups on their products. CRC spot prices have jumped by about $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) since last week, settling in the general range of $38.00-$39.00 cwt. ($837-$859/mt or $768-$780/nt).

 

In letters to their customers, both USS-POSCO and California Steel Industries (CSI) announced last week they were increasing their hot rolled coil (HRC) and CRC spot market base prices by $2.00 cwt.($44/mt or $40/nt).  However, AK Steel announced an increase of only $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt), and SteelOrbis sources have confirmed that that Severstal responded with a meager $1.00 cwt. price increase.

 

Buyers say they expect more mills will hike their prices within the next couple of weeks, and predict the market will likely absorb the smaller of the increases instead of the largest because supply levels are still high thanks to attractive import offers. Sources tell SteelOrbis that in essence, these hikes are leveling the playing field by forcing major buyers to start paying prices closer to what everyone else is paying.

 

As for imports, Indian CRC offers continue to climb this week as high demand now has orders booked through springtime. Indian CRC increased this week by about $1.00 cwt., settling in the general range of $36.00-$37.00 cwt. ($794-$815/mt or $720-$740/nt). Though there was no movement in Chinese offers this week, buyers anticipate an uptick this month as that market also starts to see more demand while contract negotiations play out in the US.