US HRC prices have revised downward once again, sources note and some believe that prices will soften to $85 cwt. ($1,874/mt or $1,700/nt) or lower before the first of the year. Current HRC prices are trending at $87-$90 cwt. ($1,918-$1,984/mt or $1,740-$1,800/nt), FOB mill, against a range of $89-$92 cwt. ($1,962-$2,028/mt or $1,780-$1,840/nt) FOB mill, two weeks ago.
CRC prices, however, continue to trend at $106-$108 cwt. ($2,337-$2,381/mt or $2,120-$2,160/nt) FOB mill, which has many speculating that a sharp downtick could be on the horizon.
“Imported steel, even with the Section 232 tariff, is still cheaper than what’s being offered within the domestic market,” a source said. “So that’s certainly placing pressure on things. Not to mention, that a lot of us are waiting to see what happens when the EU tariffs get removed on January 1. That’s also a big unknown.”
A second source agreed. “I think a lot of us see the writing on the wall,” he said. “Do we think prices will fall back to pre-pandemic levels? No. But even if the market settles at 25% higher than where they were back then, which is what a lot of people are anticipating, that’s still a big drop from where things are now.”