US HRC: Mills compete for orders, prices fall

US hot rolled coil (HRC) prices fell for a third consecutive week as short lead times have forced mills to compete for orders.

The Argus weekly domestic US HRC Midwest and southern assessments fell by $39/short ton (st) to $950/st on an ex-works basis.

US HRC prices have fallen by 21pc since the peak of $1,200/st in April.

A Midwest mill was said to offer 350st at $950/st, while another mill said it had sold HRC between $950-960/st. A southern mill said it was offering HRC at $1,010/st.

Most competitive offers were between $940-980/st, with some as low as $900/st.

While market sources expect larger tonnage purchases would likely fall below the $900/st level, no such purchases were reported being made.

The weekly Argus US HRC lead time average edged up to 3-4 weeks from 2-4 weeks as mills still have some late-June availability. Mills have booked up more of June but have broadly not closed out the month. Lead times have shrunk noticeably since a peak of 8-10 weeks at the end of March.

A buyer noted he has struggled to fill his contract tons with the mills, but that quote activity had picked up in the last few weeks with construction, agriculture, solar and auto helping prop up demand.

Most service centers are becoming more comfortable with their current inventory levels, which are lower than they used to hold. Many are buying steel from their competitors to fill inventory holes rather than wait for steel to be delivered at current mill lead times.

The weekly Argus US HRC import price fell by $35/st to $765/st on a ddp Houston basis on lower indicated values. Some offers were heard as low as $750/st ddp Houston from South Korea, $780/st from Vietnam and $900/st from Mexico.

Plate

The Argus weekly domestic US ex-works plate assessment was flat at $1,570/st as the market continued to digest July prices being kept flat by electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker Nucor two weeks ago.

Lead times extended to 5-7 weeks from 5-6 weeks, as mills booked up more of their July tons.

The Argus US delivered plate assessment dropped by $38.75/st to $1,600/st as offers were in a range of $1,560-1,640/st and competitive offers were between $1,590-1,600/st.