The most commonly heard spot price transaction range for US domestic hot rolled coil has remained mostly stable since our last report a week ago, at $30-$31 cwt. ($661-$683/mt or $600-$620/nt), ex-mill, despite last week’s price increase announcement.
Last week, US flat rolled steel mills announced they would be raising prices by $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt), effective with all new orders; but since the current week’s activity has been especially light due to the Thanksgiving holiday, prices have not yet moved.
“We believe things will be stable in the near-term due to the holiday, but we expect to see domestic prices to tick upward in the next couple of weeks,” a source said.