US HRC: Prices move up on sales, offers

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices continued their upward march with mills securing higher sales and aiming for even higher levels.

The Argus weekly domestic US HRC index rose by $80/short ton (st) to $1,100/st ex-works Midwest this week. Electric arc furnace (EAF) minimill steelmaker Nucor was said to have secured prices of $1,080/st and pushed offers as high as $1,100/st. Other offers were heard at $1,200/st. Lead times were flat at 8-9 weeks.

Service centers hunted for tons available in March, with most mills slow-rolling the opening of their books and working on securing contract tons.

More market participants have become pessimistic that supply-side issues will be worked out soon, with many expecting a lack of supply to remain in the first quarter and potentially drag through the first half of the year.

The CME HRC futures market rose significantly in the last week, reflecting sentiment that supply issues will remain with the market for some time, with February prices skyrocketing by $117/st to $1,118/st and March prices jumping by $109/st to $1,075/st. April prices rose by $102/st to $1,027/st, while May futures prices increased by $94/st to $964/st. June prices jumped by $98/st to $953/st, while July prices rose by $76/st to $888/st.

The spread between #1 busheling scrap delivered US Midwest mills and HRC selling prices rose to $762.95/st, up by 12pc compared to the $682.95/st spread from the week before and more than double the $349.91/st recorded a year ago. Domestic scrap prices are expected to increase by as much as $100/gross ton (gt) in the January trade, which is close to wrapping up.

The domestic US cold-rolled coil (CRC) assessment rose by $49/st to $1,200/st ex-works, and the hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil assessment increased by $40/st to $1,200/st. Lead times for CRC and HDG both rose to 10 weeks from 8-9 weeks.

HRC import prices into Houston rose by $60/st to $1,010/st ddp on offers from Turkey.

Plate

The Argus weekly domestic US plate assessment was flat at $932/st while lead times stayed flat at 4-6 weeks.