Current prices for US domestic hot rolled coil are still trending in the range of $34.50-$35.50 cwt. ($761-$783/mt or $690-$710/nt), ex-mill, but as with last week, some sources are still reporting that deals up to $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) below this range are available to large-tonnage buyers.
The differential between domestic pricing and import pricing, sources note, has many buyers turning away from offshore bookings. HRC in the US domestic market from Serbia, Egypt and Mexico are still being heard at approximately $33 cwt. ($728/mt or $660/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports (Serbia and Egypt), and FOB Houston (Mexico).
“Domestic lead times are short and there’s not a lot of concern about people being able to get their steel,” a source said. “No one is interested in replenishing their inventories and people are buying on an as-needed basis. We expect this trend to continue through the summer.”
Some, however, question whether this reluctance to book offshore will lead to price increases “down the road,” when import arrivals are diminished. On the other hand, others feel that increased domestic capacity will offset declining import arrivals, and that no such increase will take hold.