US flat rolled steel prices have firmed by $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) in the past seven days, despite some market players’ belief that prices had reached their ceiling.
This week, US HRC prices are trending at $66-$67 cwt. ($1,455-$1,477/mt or $1,320-$1,340/nt), FOB mill, whereas US CRC prices are trending at $76-$77 cwt. ($1,676-$1,698/mt or $1,520-$1,540/nt), FOB mill.
As a point of comparison, in early April 2020, SteelOrbis reported that US HRC prices were being heard at $24-$26 cwt. ($529-$573/mt or $480-$520/nt), FOB mill. CRC prices were trending between $33-$36 cwt. ($728-$794/mt or $660-$720/nt), FOB mill.
“The technical term for what’s going on with prices right now, is insanity,” a source said. Service center sources agree that prices are “insane,” however, multiple sources close to SteelOrbis have said they’re “busier than ever,” despite higher price points.
“Steel prices are high and they’re going to keep going up,” a source said. “Scrap [prices] may be down this month but we’re already expecting a rebound in May. When that happens, I think we’ll see hot rolled climb to over $70 cwt. ($1,543/mt or $1,400/nt). Mark my words.”