Sources close to SteelOrbis have confirmed that spot market prices for US domestic HRC, CRC, and HDG coil have continued to fall since our last report a week ago, adding that buyers have become “militant” when it comes to pressing for discounts.
“We had been in a sellers’ market for a really long time, but for now at least, we’re at point where buyers appear to have the upper hand,” a source said.
For example, although the current spot market price for HRC has softened by $3.00 cwt. ($66/mt or $60/nt) in the past seven days, to an average of $49-$51 cwt. ($1,080-$1,124/mt or $980-$1,020/nt), FOB mill, deals below this range are “absolutely available to large-scale buyers.”
A similar situation is being seen within the CRC and HDG markets.
The most commonly heard price for CRC is now trending at $61-$63 cwt. ($1,345-$1,389/mt or $1,220-$1,260/nt), whereas the most commonly heard range for HDG coil is trending at $59-$61 cwt. ($1,301-$1,345/mt or $1,180-$1,320/nt), both FOB mill. Similar to what’s being seen in the HRC marketplace, deals below these ranges have been heard based on volume.
Sources continue to report that they believe the market “still has a bit to go” before prices bottom out.
“I don’t know if we’ll see the full slide happen in June or whether this will continue into July, but this isn’t over yet,” a final source said.