Sources close to SteelOrbis have indicated that US import HRC and CRC are being offered at approximately $33 cwt. ($728/mt or $660/nt) and $40-$42 cwt. ($881-$926/mt or $800-$840/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports, which is mostly on-par with US domestic prices.
Import HRC offers have been heard from Europe, Mexico and Brazil; most import CRC offers have been heard from Korea, Europe and Mexico.
Last week, numerous US flat rolled steel mills announced they’d be raising prices by $3.00 cwt. ($66/mt or $60/nt), effective with all new orders. Many speculate that a second announcement will be pushed out before the end of the month, adding they believe the second increase will be used as a strategy to get some, if not most, of the first increase pushed through.
“Up until this week, import CRC was priced above domestic,” a source said. “Domestic and import HRC are still within a hair’s distance of one another. Suffice to say, a lot of buyers are taking a wait-and-see approach to booking offshore because they’re wanting to gauge how [the domestic price increases] will play out.