Despite already slim margins, US domestic flat rolled spot prices have fallen yet again after moderate stability in the past couple weeks. Buying activity levels have been decent, but far from spectacular and so large orders continue to garner discounts from mills looking to fill orders books. As a result, spot prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) and cold rolled coil (CRC) have slipped by $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) to $27.50-$28.50 cwt. ($606-$628/mt or $550-$570/nt) and $32.50-$33.50 cwt. ($716-$739/mt or $650-$670/nt), respectively, both ex-Midwest mill and sources have said that the high end of the range is easily available to even smaller buyers.
Service center inventories declined in April while steel shipments were steady, according data from the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI), which service center sources confirmed to SteelOrbis. With margins thin and inventories declining while overall demand is still steady, some believe the market may soon be nearing an inflection point and "the more prices are pushed lower, the more volatile the upswing could be." For now, though, until the scrap trend for June is evident, little movement in flats prices is anticipated. Futures offers from China and Korea, meanwhile, continue to really only attract West Coast attention, while Mexican HRC offer prices have fallen in the last week to US domestic spot price levels.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week |
|
| US domestic | ||||
| HRC | $27.50-$28.50 | $606-$628 | $550-$570 | ↓ $0.50 cwt. |
| CRC | $32.50-$33.50 | $716-$739 | $650-$670 | ↓ $0.50 cwt. |
| China* | ||||
| CRC | $32.50-$33.50 | $728-$750 | $660-$680 | neutral |
| Korea** | ||||
| HRC | $31.00-$32.00 | $683-$705 | $620-$640 | neutral |
| Mexico*** | ||||
| HRC | $27.50-$28.50 | $606-$628 | $550-$570 | ↓ $0.50 cwt. on low end |
*DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports
**DDP loaded truck in US West Coast ports
***DDP loaded truck delivered into Houston