In late January, after SteelOrbis reported three back-to-back price increases for US domestic HSS, and market players said prices “could not and would not go higher,” US domestic tube mills responded with a proverbial “hold my beer,” when they announced their fourth increase in less than two months. That late-January increase brought prices to a then-historical high of $74-$75 cwt. ($1,631-$1,653/mt or $1,480-$1,500/nt), FOB mill.
Since that time, prices have continued to skyrocket, and while current prices are holding in the range of $93-$94 cwt. ($2,050-$2,072/mt or $1,860-$1,880/nt), FOB mill, reflecting no change since our last report a week ago, sources tell SteelOrbis that yet another $5.00 cwt. ($110/mt or $100/nt) price increase will likely land by the end of this week.
Sources say the move is not surprising, considering that US domestic HRC prices are hovering in the range of $74-$76 cwt. ($1,631-$1,676/mt or $1,480-$1,520/nt), FOB mill. However, the question of when flat rolled steel prices will start to correct, and how steep that correction could be, has yet to be answered.
“We’ve had some team meetings with a broad cross section of the company, and management seems to think we could see some waffling on flat rolled as we get toward the end of the year, but they don’t think it will be significant,” a source said. “At this point, we believe that our Q2 sales will be stronger than our Q1 sales. The tube mills have limited tons available for June, and demand is still strong. For now, it looks like the market still has some legs to it.”