US HRC: Prices jump on transactions

Market: Metals
19/01/21

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices jumped this week as mills continued to secure higher prices from buyers paying up for whatever tons were available in the market.

The Argus weekly domestic US HRC index rose by $100/short ton (st) to $1,200/st ex-works Midwest this week. Multiple transactions at $1,200/st were reported, ranging from under 200st to 1,000st. Lead times were flat at 8-9 weeks.

While most steel service centers reported that spot tonnage was hard to find, one mill said they sold 10,000st of material for March at $1,100/st.

The spread between #1 busheling scrap delivered US Midwest mills and HRC selling prices slipped slightly to $760.27/st, down by less than half a percent from the $762.95/st spread from the week before. The spread was more than double the $344.91/st recorded a year ago. Domestic #1 busheling scrap prices rose by more than $100/st in the January trade.

The domestic US cold-rolled coil (CRC) assessment rose by $150/st to $1,350/st ex-works, and the hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil assessment increased by $150/st to $1,350/st, both on reported transactions. Lead times for CRC and HDG both widened to 8-10 weeks from 10 weeks.

HRC import prices into Houston were flat at $1,010/st ddp.

The CME HRC futures market erased some of its recent gains in the last week, reflecting sentiment that the market may be reaching a peak. March prices dropping by $40/st to $1,035/st, and April falling by $34/st to $993/st. May futures prices fell by $51/st to $913/st, while June prices fell by $53/st to $900/st. July prices declined by $48/st to $840/st.

Plate

The Argus weekly domestic US plate assessment rose by $48/st to $980/st while lead times stayed rose to 6-7 weeks from 4-6 weeks.

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US HRC: Prices jump on transactions

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US adds 178,000 jobs in March, jobless rate falls

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