The previously seen downtrend within the US domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) spot market has taken pause since our last report a week ago, as the current average spot price transaction range has remained steady week-on-week. The current range is unchanged since our last report a week ago, and remains in the approximate range of $18.50-$19.00 cwt. ($407-$419/mt or $370-$380/nt), ex-Midwest mill.
Many within the market have questioned whether prices have officially reached bottom, especially in light of this week’s $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) price increase announcement by NMLK USA, and AK Steel having announced that they have set a new base price of $21.00 cwt ($463/mt or $420/nt) for HRC orders. “We figured mills would try to raise prices at some point but we didn’t think we’d see something this soon,” said one SteelOrbis source. “Yes, scrap prices seem to have stabilized but it’s hard to believe that these announcements will gain acceptance based on import arrivals and current inventory levels.”