Last week, StelOrbis reported that US HRC prices had revised upward to $26-$27 cwt. ($573-$595/mt or $520-$540/nt), ex-mill following US flats mills’ back-to-back price increase announcements. This week, the firming trend has continued.
Sources close to SteelOrbis have indicated that current prices have risen by $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt) in the past seven days, to $27.50-$28.50 cwt. ($606-$628/mt or $550-$570/nt), ex-mill. Rumors about a possible third price increase announcement are already swirling through the marketplace. That rumor, sources note, is largely linked to the expectation that US scrap prices are going to firm during the August buy-cycle.
“We expect that prices will tick up in the next month and are likely to come back down again in October,” a source said. “Yes, prices are going up right now, but this is more about the fact that everyone took their inventories razor thin, which was plausible because lead times were incredibly short. Market fundamentals, as they are today, indicate that higher prices aren’t sustainable for the long term.”