Last week, SteelOrbis reported that US domestic HRC prices were still trending in the range of $29.00-$29.50 cwt. ($639-$650/mt or $580-$590/nt) at the mill. This week, prices have shifted downward by approximately $0.50 cwt, and are now being heard in the range of $28.50-$29.00 cwt. ($628-$639/mt or $570-$580/nt), ex-mill, although some sources have reported that deals below this range are available.
This shift in pricing is consistent with SteelOrbis’ prior prediction, that US HRC prices would begin to exhibit weakness toward the end of Q3, or in the early days of Q4. Currently, market players are keeping close tabs on September scrap sales, US scrap prices are already trending lower than predicted, which could lead to additional softening within the US HRC market.