What lies ahead for the US domestic CRC market?

Buyers and sellers in the US domestic CRC market say things trended fairly quiet last week in terms of order activity and inquiries, but most of that related to people having taken extra time off to extend their Labor Day holiday weekend.  "Everyone was in vacation mode there's not a lot of anything that went on," according to one Midwest service center.  And much to the surprise of no one, this supported a week-on-week sideways pricing trend, which kept the most commonly reported spot price transaction range at approximately $38.00-$39.00 cwt. ($837-$860/mt or $760-$780/nt) ex-Midwest mill.

In terms of imports, trader sources still cite a belief that a trade case against certain offshore producers is imminent.  While many believed the filing could have come as soon as last Friday, others think it's more likely to materialize toward the end of the month.  Prices out of Chinese and Indian mills have held steady, according to sources, who say they've heard rumblings that Brazilian offers are also newly available in ranges that are "quite spotty", although final pricing has not yet been confirmed.