US HRC: Prices rise slower as mills pause

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices continued to increase in the last week but at slower rates than previously, as some mills took a pause in price increases as they reviewed their raw material costs.

The Argus weekly domestic US HRC Midwest assessment rose by $50/short ton to $1,452/st, the smallest increase in the last four weeks. The southern HRC assessment rose by $38/st to $1,440/st.

The Midwest price was up by 42pc since hitting a low of $1,022.50/st on 1 March.

HRC lead times in the Midwest slipped to 5-6 weeks from 6-7 weeks, as most mills were still waiting to open up their May books.

HRC was offered at between $1,400-1,500/st.

Raw material price expectations continued to weigh on the market, with many believing that prime scrap will increase by more than $100/gross ton (gt) in the April trade, which could begin next week. Some expect of price increases of $150-200/gt.

The April scrap trade is expected to be more straightforward than March, when many steel mills were caught flat footed by rapidly rising prices that ended up increasing #1 busheling by $175-190/gt.

HRC import prices into Houston were flat at $1,250/st ddp on no new offers.

The spread between #1 busheling scrap delivered US Midwest mills and HRC selling prices rose by 6.3pc to $843/st. A year ago the spread was $800/st.

The spread between pig iron cfr New Orleans and Midwest and southern HRC prices rose by 8.2pc compared to the prior week to $536/st.

The Argus weekly domestic US cold-rolled coil (CRC) assessment rose by $50/st to $1,850/st, while the hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) assessment jumped increased by $28/st to $1,848/st.

Mill offers were reported between $1,800-1,900/st.

Lead times for CRC widened to 6-8 weeks from 6-7 weeks while HDG lead times rose to 7-8 weeks from 6-7 weeks.

The CME HRC Midwest futures market moved down in the last week after multiple weeks of increases. May futures pricing fell by $50/st to $1,570/st compared to the last week, while June pricing was down by $39/st to $1,561/st. July future pricing declined by $26/st to $1,535/st, while August futures fell by $28/st to $1,495/st. September futures also moved down by $25/st to $1,480/st, while October futures are at $1,435/st.

Plate

The Argus weekly domestic US ex-works plate assessment rose by $26/st to $1,881/st on an increase from integrated steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs. Other steelmakers like Nucor were expected to increase prices in the coming week. The plate delivered assessment increased by $20/st to $1,920/st. Lead times were flat at 6 weeks.