US domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) and cold rolled coil (CRC) prices are firm this week, but a price softening may be on the horizon for US mills to stay competitive with import offers. Sources forecast a price drop for both HRC and CRC spot prices by year-end, most likely around $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt).
For now, HRC spot prices are flat in the general range of about $33.00-$34.00 cwt. ($720-$750/mt or $660-$680/nt) ex-mill and CRC spot prices are still approximately $38.00-$39.00 cwt. ($837-$859/mt or $768-$780/nt) ex-mill.
While domestic pricing is stable, import offers on CRC from India and HRC from Russia have shifted. In an effort to get more aggressive in its fight to win more buyers, pricing on Russian HRC dipped about $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) to approximately $27.00-$28.00 cwt. ($595-$617/mt or $540-$560/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. On the flip side, Indian CRC offers edged up $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) to $35.50-$36.50 cwt. ($761-$783/mt or $690-$710/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. In addition, Chinese CRC and Mexican HRC pricing, meanwhile, have remained neutral.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic | ||||
| Ex-Midwest mill | ||||
| HRC | $33.00 -$34.00 | $720-$750 | $660-$680 | neutral |
| CRC | $38.00-$39.00 | $837-$859 | $768-$780 | neutral |
| Mexico** | ||||
| HRC | $30.00-$31.00 | $661-$683 | $600-$620 | neutral |
| China* | ||||
| CRC | $33.50-$34.50 | $739-$761 | $670-$690 | neutral |
| Russia* | ||||
| HRC | $27.00-$28.00 | $595-$617 | $540-$560 | ↓$2.00 cwt. |
| India* | ||||
| CRC | $35.50-$36.50 | $783-$805 | $710-$730 | ↑$1.00 cwt. |
| *DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports | ||||
| *DDP loaded truck delivered into Houston | ||||