US flat steel prices continued steady to higher this week amid reports of solid flat steel demand at domestic steel mills, expectations that ongoing maintenance operations at flat steel producers will further reduce short-term supply availability, and also amid reports of continued strength in global energy markets, the result of ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East, market insiders told SteelOrbis.
On April 7, US President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, though the deal remains shaky ahead of scheduled talks this weekend between the US and Iran in Pakistan. Post ceasefire air strikes by Israel into Lebanon and the continued slow movement of ships and tolls reportedly charged by Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, remain points of contention ahead of the talks.
“Over the next few months, we are expecting to see about 750,000 tons of flat steel capacity off the market because of maintenance,” said one US Gulf Coast flat steel insider. “Over the next week alone, there will be outages totaling about 150,000 tons. “As a result many mills are not going to be offering for May and June production.”
The Gulf Coast insider added that many US mills currently are operating at their highest levels of production in many years as a result of scant imports -the result of ongoing 50 percent Section 232 tariffs. “Imports are continuing to come in, but the levels arriving are such that it doesn’t really make much of a difference. Unless you booked capacity at the beginning of the year, many people are just riding these recent price increases along.”
Weekly SteelOrbis surveys show flat steel values rose another $5/nt to on average $1040/nt ($1,146/mt), or $52/cwt., FOB mill, up from $1,035/nt ($1,114/mt), or $51.75/cwt., one week earlier. With the spring construction season already in progress, insiders told SteelOrbis lead times for new HRC production were last discussed at 7-8 weeks, up from 3-5 weeks in earlier reports.
This week, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor continued to raise its Consumer Spot Price (CSP) for flat-rolled coils for a twelfth time in 15 weeks, by another $5/nt on an FOB mill basis to $1,040/nt ($1,146/mt), or $52/cwt., up from $1,035/nt ($1,141/mt), or $51.75/cwt., one week ago. Since the end of October, when CSP prices started a steady weekly advance following an eight-week period of stability at $875/nt, the Nucor CSP has increased nearly 19 percent. Nucor‘s California Steel Industries (CSI) price also rose another $5/nt on an FOB basis this week to $1,090/nt ($1,202/mt), or $54.50/cwt., up from $1,085/nt ($1,196/mt), or 54.25/cwt., a week earlier.
In the cold rolled markets, the average price of CRC on an FOB basis was assessed in thin trade steady on the week at $1,165/nt ($1,284/mt), or $58.25/cwt. Based on a $5/nt increase in weekly HRC prices and a flat weekly CRC assessment, the current spread between the two key steel grades fell to $125/nt, or $6.25/cwt., off from $130/nt, or $6.50/cwt., one week prior.
In the hot-dipped galvenized market, traders told SteelOrbis base HDG pricing continues to climb towards CRC values as demand continues strong for the steel grade. “ A lot of mills are fully booked for HDG, so pricing continues to rise for whatever left still available,” the Gulf Coast insider said. The SteelOrbis weekly HDG base price average climbed $20/nt on an FOB basis to $1,160/nt ($1,278/mt), or $58/cwt., up from $1,140/nt ($1,257/mt), or $57/cwt., one week earlier.
In the US oil markets, West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI) sold at about $99 per barrel (/bbl) on April 10, off slightly from one week ago, though still the highest price on record since July 2022. US average weekly diesel fuel pricing was reported at $5.643 per gallon (/gal) on April 6, up from $5.401/gal a week earlier, according to the Washington, DC-based Energy Information Administration. Diesel fuel pricing is up more than $2/gal from one year ago, EIA data shows.