US flat steel markets continued mixed this week, with flat steel grades slightly higher as mills continued to raise posted prices, while coated steel markets were steady to a bit lower on continued scant demand, as August scrap pricing was now expected to settle sideways to July pricing, flat steel market insiders told SteelOrbis this week.
The market assessment differs little from the week of July 29, when unsettled August scrap pricing was still seen steady to $20/gt ($22/mt) higher a delivered to mill basis, with expectations of higher scrap pricing helping to stem the recent tide of falling flat steel prices, market insiders said.
Spot hot-rolled coil prices are now assessed at $33.00-$33.75/cwt. ($660-675/nt or $728-744/mt) delivered to customer, up slightly from the $32.75-$33.75/cwt. ($655-675/nt or $722-744/mt) range. As flat steel demand still fails to impress as the US economy falters, market insiders claim recent price increases from steelmaker Nucor have helped to establish a price floor beneath falling flat steel prices. They said pricing below $32.50-$33.50/cwt. ($650-670/st or $717-739/mt) FOB mill was approaching the mills’ variable cost of doing business, therefore, selling at or below those levels could cause the mill to lose money.
On August 5, Nucor’s Consumer Spot Price (CSP) -the price it charges for hot-rolled coils across all of its mills- increased another 2 percent following a similar nearly 4 percent increase for the week of July 29, to $690/st or $34.50/cwt ($761/mt) FOB mill. The first price increase on July 29, to $675/st or $33.75/cwt. ($744/mt), was the first price rise announced by Nucor since May 20, as demand for finished steel continued to wane across the US.
“The market seems to be returning to a more normal pricing pattern,” a US Gulf Coast pipe market distributor told SteelOrbis. “Pricing has been going down for about the last 3-4 months, now it’s starting to come back up a little as the mills have begun to raise prices,” he said. “Recently, our manufacturer has announced a price increase of about $50/ton for our X-52 pipe.”
In the cold-rolled market, spot CRC is discussed in thin trade at $45.75-$46.25/cwt. FOB mill, ($1,008-1,020/mt or $915-925/nt), $0.25/cwt. higher than a week ago. The closely-watched spread between HRC and CRC is assessed at $12.62/cwt. ($252/nt or $278/mt), little changed from last week’s $12.50/cwt. ($278/mt or $250/nt) spread.
In the coated markets, spot hot-dipped galvanized product is discussed at $42.75-$43.25/cwt. ($943-954/mt or $855-865/nt) on a delivered basis, slightly lower than last week’s $43.00-$43.50/cwt. ($860-$870/nt or $948-$959/mt) FOB mill range.
