A growing number of people who buy and sell US domestic and import hot rolled coil (HRC) say the rumors of a pending trade case are starting to grow louder. US import prices from Korea, Turkey and Brazil all declined in the past week and despite US mills’ best effort to push prices up, the US domestic spot market continues to hold in the approximate range of $22.00-$23.00 cwt. ($507-$529/mt or $460-$480/nt), ex-Midwest mill.
Although some sources believe the HRC trade case filing could come at any moment, other market sources believe that CRC will come next, with HRC trailing several months behind, and that Japanese and Brazilian producers are likely to be named on the petition list.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US ex-mill spot price | ||||
| HRC | $23-$24 | $507-$529 | $460-$480 | neutral |
| Korean | ||||
| HRC | $20-$21 | $441-$463 | $400-$420 | down $1.00 cwt. on top end |
| Turkey* | ||||
| HRC | $20-$21 | $441-$463 | $400-$420 | down $1.00 cwt. on top end |
| Brazil* | ||||
| HRC | $19-$20 | $419-$441 | $380-$400 | down $1.00 cwt. |
| *DDP loaded truck US Gulf Coast ports | ||||