US HRC: Prices continue to rise on tight supply

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in the US continued to rise amid a persistent lack of supply.

The Argus weekly domestic US HRC Midwest assessment rose by $16/short ton (st) to $1,330/st ex-works. Lead times increased to 8-9 weeks from 7-9 weeks.

In the south, the Argus weekly domestic US HRC south assessment increased by $15.75/st to $1,325/st.

The North American auto industry continued to be hobbled by a lack of semiconductors and other material shortages, with Ford last week announcing further production cuts to its steel and aluminum-intensive F-150 full-size pickup truck. Despite this, auto companies and their suppliers appear to still be consuming most of their allotted tons in order to be ready to pick production back up when supply issues are resolved.

A recovery in the energy market spurred Evraz to restart its seamless pipe mill at its Pueblo, Colorado, steel mill.

The US active drilling rig count rose by 13 last week to 430, the highest in nearly a year but still a decline of 35pc compared to a year ago.

The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US benchmark, has increased by 20pc since the beginning of the year to $59.66/barrel on 5 April.

The CME HRC Midwest futures market continued to seesaw, posting modest gains this week after steep loses in the prior week but remaining mostly in backwardation. For May, futures prices rose by $35/st to $1,345/st, while June prices increased by $35/st to $1,324/st. July prices rose by $42/st to $1,255/st, with August futures increasing by $55/st to $1,225/st. September futures pricing rose by $15/st to $1,150/st.

The spread between #1 busheling scrap delivered US Midwest mills and HRC selling prices rose by 2pc to $827.77/st from $811.77/st the week before. The spread is more than triple than a year ago, when it was $251/st.

The April domestic ferrous scrap trade began this week, with #1 busheling prices selling at sideways from March levels in early trading across the upper Midwest.

The domestic US cold-rolled coil (CRC) assessment increased by $13/st to $1,520/st, while the hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil assessment increased by $10/st to $1,530/st. Lead times for CRC and HDG both declined to 8-10 weeks from 10-12 weeks, though spot supply remained limited.

HRC import prices into Houston increased by $17/st to $1,200/st ddp.

Plate

The Argus weekly domestic US plate assessment increased by $7/st to $1,200/st, while lead times widened to 5-7 weeks from 6 weeks.