The most commonly heard spot market price transaction range for US domestic HRC has once again revised upward, with many market players citing belief that the end of the uptrend is still weeks, if not months, from coming to an end.
Current pricing is up $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt) since our last report a week ago, which sets the current range to $35.50-$37.50 cwt. ($783-$827/mt or $710-$750/nt), ex-mill.
SteelOrbis sources note that today’s pricing is “higher than were the spot market was in 2012, when HRC was at its peak.”
It’s also worth noting that the current average spot market price is up nearly 50 percent from levels seen the day after the 2016 presidential election.
“The uncertainty with what the outcome of the Section 232 case is going to be has a lot to do with this,” another source said. “We all feel that prices will continue to go up but the million dollar question is will prices stay high or will we see some significant correction during the second part of the year.”