Spot market prices for US domestic hot rolled coil have trended stable during the current week, as many within the market say they’re just finally getting back to the office after an extended year-end vacation.
“A lot of us didn’t get back into the office until Wednesday,” a source said. “Everything is still stable, although I expect that new pricing will be available early next week.”
As such, the most commonly heard spot market price transaction range for US domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) is still being heard in the range of $37-$38 cwt. ($816-$838/mt or $740-$760/nt) ex-mill; some sources have indicated that the “fire-sale” pricing that some domestic mills had been offering during the last weeks of 2018 is no longer available.
It is worth noting, however, that US scrap prices are expected to settle down between $10-$40/gt during the January buy cycle, depending on the grade and region. If US scrap pricing softens substantially, this could place downward pricing pressure on US HRC prices.
Looking offshore, import pricing is also stable, week-over-week, although trader sources have said they are actively pursuing updated offers. The most recently heard offers for import HRC in the US domestic market from Korea, Egypt and Serbia were in the range of $34-$35 cwt. ($750-$772/mt or $680-$700/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, while offers from Mexico had been heard in the range of $36-$37 cwt. ($794-$816/mt or $720-$740/nt) FOB Houston.