Earlier this week, the book price for US domestic HRC took another hit, falling from an approximate range of $69-$71 cwt. ($1,521-$1,565/mt or $1,380-$1,420/nt), FOB mill, to roughly $63-$65 cwt. ($1,389-$1,433/mt or $1,260-$1,300/nt), FOB mill. And, as many in the market have been expecting would happen, US tube mills officially revised HSS spot market prices.
This week, HSS prices have fallen by approximately $5 cwt. ($110/mt or $100/nt), from roughly $108-$109 cwt. ($2,381-$2,403/mt or $2,160-$2,180/nt), FOB mill, to approximately $103-$104 cwt. ($2,271-$2,293/mt or $2,060-$2,080/nt), FOB mill.
“There is absolutely zero confidence in the market right now, especially because if you look at where hot rolled [pricing] is, HSS prices should be somewhere north or south of $85 cwt. ($1,874/mt or $1,700/nt) right now,” a source said. “I think that the tube mills are trying to step things down instead of plunging all at once.”