US domestic HRC prices continue to remain relatively steady, sources note, as the bulk of spot market transactions continue to take place in SteelOrbis’ previously anticipated range.
This week’s average transaction range is trending at $38-$40 cwt. ($837-$882/mt or $760-$800/nt), FOB mill, which aligns with our August 31 prediction that prices would trend “somewhere between $37-$40 cwt. ($816-$882/mt or $720-$800/nt), FOB mill, for the next several weeks.”
“[Hot rolled coil] prices have been in the upper 30’s (cwt.) for four straight weeks, so it looks like some stability is upon us,” a source said. “$40 cwt. ($882/mt or $800/nt) sems to be [mills’] line in the sand, but the question for now is whether this will be a new pricing floor, which I think is what the mills are hoping for, or whether it’s going to be a ceiling.”
A second source said he believes that downtrending scrap prices could prompt customers to push for better deals, especially in that US HRC lead times fall somewhere in the range of 3-5 weeks.
“We’ve all seen that busheling is down again this month, and demand is OK, but it’s not anything to write home about,” a second source added, noting that prime grade scrap prices settled down by about $30/gt during this month’s buy cycle. “On the other hand, higher energy costs could keep prices from slipping too much. There are a lot of moving parts that need to be considered when it comes to pricing.”
In terms of US domestic cold rolled coil, CRC spot market prices have softened approximately $1.00 cwt. week-over-week, and are now being heard at $55-$57 cwt. ($1,213-$1,257/mt or $1,100-$1,040/nt), FOB mill. Similar to last week, deals below this range are available based on volume.
“We’re still looking at a $17 cwt. ($375/mt or $340/nt) spread between HRC and CRC, which is still a historically high spread,” a final source said. “But, it’s not as insane as the $25 cwt. spread ($551/mt or $500/nt), FOB mill that we saw at the height of the pandemic.”