US domestic flat rolled spot prices have fallen once again this week but opportunities for a price turnaround are beginning to emerge. Since last week, US domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) spots fell about $0.50 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) to $29.50-$30.50 cwt. ($650-$672/mt or $590-$610/nt) ex-Midwest mill and cold rolled coil (CRC) spot prices dropped into a narrower range. HRC lead times still remain almost entirely in June, and buyers with more leverage are already able to book orders under the $29.50 cwt. ex-mill level. However, mill capacity utilization rates have been dropping the last few weeks and domestic mills are facing little competition from imports at the moment. Furthermore, with end-use demand stable but buyers delaying purchases, service center inventories are slowing diminishing.
Mill profitability has also decreased substantially during the price drops over the last few months which has translated to a few mills pushing back on some of the larger discounts, according to SteelOrbis sources; however, with most mills still dropping prices in an attempt to attract activity, spot prices will likely fall again over the next couple weeks. As mentioned, new offshore offers haven't been particularly competitive as of late. Mexico is consistently able to book orders from the US but new Russian hot rolled coil (HRC) offers at $31.00-$32.00 cwt. ($683-$705/mt or $620-$640/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports won't be of much interest to US buyers until US domestic spot prices at least stabilize.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic | ||||
| HRC | $29.50-$30.50 | $650-$672 | $590-$610 | ↓$0.50 |
| CRC | $34.00-$35.00 | $750-$772 | $680-$700 | ↓$1.00 cwt. on high end |
| China* | ||||
| CRC | $37.00-$38.00 | $816-$838 | $740-$760 | neutral |
| Mexico** | ||||
| HRC | $30.00-$31.00 | $661-$683 | $600-$620 | ↓$1.00 cwt. on high end |
| Russia* | ||||
| HRC | $31.00-$32.00 | $683-$705 | $620-$640 | newly offered |
**DDP loaded truck delivered into Houston