US HRC: Prices drop as buyers remain disciplined

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices continued to drop as service centers limited their buys amid pricing uncertainty.

The Argus weekly domestic US HRC Midwest assessment fell by $47/short ton to $1,465/st, the lowest since April 2021. The southern assessment dropped by $66/st to $1,450/st.

Buyers reported spending as little as $1,450/st, while offers ranged between $1,400-1,500/st.

Lead times in the Midwest fell to three weeks from 3-4 weeks, as service centers kept their spot purchases limited and stuck to their contract minimums.

The latest Covid-19 surge has impacted the market broadly, limiting the amount of labor available to produce products and crimping at least some demand.

Market participants reported that electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker Steel Dynamics (SDI) would not start up the melt shop at its new mill in Texas until February, the latest delay for the facility. SDI was originally planning to start melting in mid-2021.

HRC import prices into Houston fell by $15/st to $1,200/st ddp.

The spread between #1 busheling scrap delivered US Midwest mills and HRC selling prices edged up by less than a percent compared to the prior week to $990/st as the drop in HRC pricing was offset by $60/gross ton declines in prime scrap pricing during the January trade. A year ago the spread was $760/st.

The Argus weekly domestic US cold-rolled coil (CRC) assessment plummeted by $135/st to $1,915/st, reflecting corrections in pricing as the value-added product plays catch up with falling HRC prices. The hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) assessment rose by $20/st to $1,950/st.

Lead times for CRC slipped to 6-7 weeks from seven weeks while HDG lead times rose to seven weeks from 5-6 weeks.

The CME HRC Midwest futures market was down in the last week. March pricing fell by $42/st to $1,135/st, while April pricing fell by $34/st to $1,056/st. May futures pricing declined by $28/st to $1,032/st, while June pricing was down by $17/st to $1,008/st. July future pricing is at $985/st.

Plate

The Argus weekly domestic US plate assessment edged up by $5/st to $1,855/st delivered. Lead times extended to 4-6 weeks from 4-5 weeks.