Sources close to SteelOrbis have confirmed that the average spot market price for US domestic HRC has softened, from $29 cwt. ($639/mt or $580/nt) ex-mill, to $28-$29 cwt. ($617-$639/mt or $560-$580/nt) ex-mill, although deals are said to be available based on volume.
Order activity is steady, sources note, adding that production capacity is still outpacing demand. The latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) indicated production capacity for the week ending Feb. 8, 2020 was 81.4 percent, while production capacity during the same week of 2019 was 82.4 percent.
Yet despite mills’ strong desire push prices up to a steady point of $32 cwt. ($705/mt or $640/nt) ex-mill, as evidenced by the five price increases that were announced starting in late October 2019, this week’s prices are relatively close to price points in mid-January 2020, when SteelOrbis reported US HRC prices were trending in the range of $29-$30 cwt. ($639-$661/mt or $580-$600/nt), ex-mill.
And while mills’ end-of-year price increases were largely bolstered by firming US scrap prices, now that scrap prices have turned downward, it’s largely suspected that US HRC price points could soften further, should scrap trend down again in March.