Despite mills’ recent push to raise US domestic HRC by a minimum of $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) effective with all new orders, sources close to SteelOrbis have said that “collection of the increase has been negligible. Sure, if you need a couple of tons, you’ll be paying the higher price, but buyers who have decent sized order aren’t paying it.”
As with last week, US HRC prices continue to trend in the range of $28-$30 cwt. ($617-$661/mt or $560-$600/nt), ex-mill. Sources say they believe that prices for Q1 are likely to hold in this range, but there’s concern that the “ripple effect” from COVID-19 could impact finished steel demand, which could in turn place downward price pressure HRC prices in the upcoming months.
This suspicion, sources have noted, is already evident in the market’s expectation for US scrap prices in April. Earlier this week, SteelOrbis reported that most market players believe that US scrap prices are likely to trend down between $20-$30/gt ($20-$30/mt) during next month’s buy cycle.