US HRC: Prices edge up, spot market quiet

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) pricing edged upward as the spot market remained quiet.

The Argus weekly domestic US HRC Midwest assessment rose by $3.75/st to $1,682.50/st ex-works. Lead times widened to 7-10 weeks from 8-10 weeks.

The price increase was the smallest since prices stagnated and then fell briefly in mid-January and early February.

The Argus weekly domestic US HRC south assessment increased by $14.25/st to $1,681/st.

US steel mill utilization rates have been above 80pc for the last month, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Some service centers relied on sufficient volumes of steel from their contracts, with the spot steel market mostly quiet, market participants said.

The spread between #1 busheling scrap delivered US Midwest mills and HRC selling prices edged up a few dollars to $1,126.70/st from $1,122.95/st the week before, breaking a two-week slide in spread pricing because of higher June domestic scrap prices.

The spread is nearly five times higher than a year ago, when it was $225.54/st.

The Argus weekly domestic US cold-rolled coil (CRC) assessment edged down by $3.50/st to $1,932.75/st, while the hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) assessment also slipped, down by $3.25/st to $1,931.75/st.

The general range of assessed prices are between $1,900-2,000/st. Most market participants reported either passing on offers for CRC and HDG or not seeing spot offers in the market.

Lead times for CRC were flat at 8-11 weeks, while HDG lead times shrank to 8-11 weeks from 9-11 weeks.

The CME HRC Midwest futures market continued to increase compared to the prior week. August futures jumped up by $70/st to $1,745/st, while September futures pricing lept up by $92/st to $1,702/st. October pricing jumped by $70/st to $1,600/st, while November pricing rose by $61/st to $1,500/st. December future pricing rose by $51/st to $1,430/st.

HRC import prices into Houston increased by $53.25/st to $1,540/st ddp on higher foreign offers into the US.

Plate

The Argus weekly domestic US plate assessment jumped by $56.50/st to $1,518.25/st delivered as steelmaker SSAB announced a $100/st price increase and Cleveland-Cliffs also increased prices. Lead times grew to 6-10 weeks from 7-9 weeks.