Spot market prices within the US domestic HRC market continue to trend in the range of $28-$30 cwt. ($617-$662/mt or $560-$600/nt), sources note, adding that mills are still trying to push prices a little bit higher. Transaction prices, a source continued, are “all contingent on how much steel you’re wanting to buy. The big guys definitely aren’t paying $30 cwt.”
And while some point to higher scrap prices during the August buy cycle, others believe the current uptrend in the market, albeit not the uptrend that mills were hoping for, will not be sustainable in the absence of a significant bump in sustained order activity. Prices are likely to hover at $30 cwt. in the upcoming weeks, and prices may firm a bit more before stabilizing, but prices are expected to become more flexible toward the end of Q3 and into Q4.