As rumors about a third flat rolled steel price increase continue to permeate the market, buyers and sellers of US domestic HSS tubing are keeping close tabs on hot rolled coil.
HRC has been slow to accept the first two flat rolled price increase announcements, but that didn’t stop HSS producers from pushing out a price increase of their own, and while the HSS increase did gain traction, it’s unclear whether a second HSS increase would push prices upward, in the absence of price firming within the HRC market.
Current spot market prices for tubing, however, are stable, at $51.00-$53.00 cwt. ($1,124-$1,168/mt or $1,020-$1,060/nt), ex-mill, depending on tonnage.