US flats prices continue to slide

Hot rolled coil (HRC) remains the weakest product in the US domestic flats market, with extensive supply available at many US mills. Only a few mills are booked solid through April, due to strong demand from the automotive and energy pipe and tube sectors, and are therefore not too active on the spot market. But other mills with more spot tons to fill are dropping prices to get orders, pushing HRC spot prices down another $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) in the last week to $33.00-$35.00 cwt. ($728-$772/mt or $660-$700/nt) ex-Midwest mill, although the bulk of activity is taking place at the higher end of the range. Sources tell SteelOrbis only a small handful of mills have dropped prices below $34.00 cwt. ($750-$680/nt) ex-mill. Meanwhile, cold rolled coil (CRC) spot prices are holding steady from last week--there is less downward pressure on CRC prices due to less of it being available on the spot market. 

Although most US buyers are sitting tight at the moment, making purchases only when immediately necessary, end-use demand has not tapered off and remains "surprisingly good" according to service center sources, and the current lack of buying may result in pent-up demand not too far down the line. But for the time being, domestic spot prices will likely continue to soften over the next week or two, which is keeping import activity to a minimum. There is some activity south of the border, as Mexican HRC offers in the range of $33.00-$34.00 cwt. DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports are still a safe purchase for some buyers situated near Gulf-area ports.

**DDP loaded truck delivered into Houston