US domestic hollow structural section (HSS) mills announced another round of price increases last week (the third since last November), this time for $3.00 cwt. ($66/mt or $60/nt), and sources tell SteelOrbis that mills have already discussed with their customers another possible increase in February for March orders. Demand has strengthened in the last couple weeks as buyers stock up for the spring construction season, and therefore mills have been able to slightly push up spot prices again this week. US domestic HSS spot prices have increased $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) from in early January and are now between $49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,102/mt or $980-$1,000/nt); and while some lingering deals below the range are still being reported, they will likely dry up in the next couple weeks.
Turkish import prices, on the other hand, have stayed neutral in the last couple weeks in the range of $43.00-$44.00 cwt. ($948-$970/mt or $860-$880/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Turkish mills were expected to raise prices again in response to recent increases in US domestic spot prices but trader sources tell SteelOrbis that because activity has been so slow, Turkish mills are waiting for US domestic spot prices to increase further before going up with their offer prices again.