US HRC: Prices slip as spot market remains quiet

Spot prices for flat-rolled steel in the US continued to fall as demand remained weak after the 4 July holiday weekend, and many waited for the ferrous scrap market to begin trading.

The Argus weekly domestic US hot-rolled coil (HRC) index fell for a third week, moving down by $6/short ton (st) to $479.75/st ex-works Midwest on 12 indications from sell- and buy-side sources.

Lead times slipped to 3 weeks from 3-4 weeks, with many indicating that electric arc furnace (EAF) minimills had ample availability.

The domestic US CRC assessment rose by $15/st to $680/st, while the HDG coil assessment increased by $20/st to $675/st. Lead times for both products extended to 5-7 weeks from 5-6 weeks.

Market participants continued to question the logic behind US Steel's reopening of the No 6 blast furnace at its Gary Works integrated mill in Indiana, which began to restart yesterday. Some say the company needed a production backstop in case it had issues at one of its remaining blast furnaces, while others said it could be the production mix of the blast furnace was needed for increased auto demand.

Most agreed that the increased production is a concern and could lead to an oversupply on the market and lower prices.

The spread between #1 busheling scrap delivered US Midwest mills and HRC selling prices was $194.04/st, down by 3.9pc compared to the prior week. Year-over-year, the spread is 33pc lower than the $290/st recorded a year ago.

HRC import prices into Houston fell by $10/st to $460/st ddp on lower offers from Mexico.

Futures prices in the CME HRC futures market were mixed over the last week. August prices fell by $7/st to $500/st, while September futures prices slipped by $8/st to $513/st. October HRC futures fell by $10/st to $518/st, while November futures fell by $9/st to $519/st. December prices dropped by $10/st to $520/st. January HRC futures prices fell by $5/st to $533/st.

Plate

The Argus weekly domestic US plate assessment rose by $5/st to $585/st as mills tried to book higher prices amid continued weak demand. Market participants said naval shipbuilding is one of the only bright spots for demand in the market.

Summary of market activity heard by Argus:

• HRC, US: Tradeable value at $520/st, ex-works Midwest, according to seller
• HRC, US: Tradeable value at $480/st, ex-works Midwest, according to seller
• HRC, US: Tradeable value at $485/st, ex-works Midwest, according to buyer
• HRC, US: Tradeable value at $487.50/st, ex-works Midwest, according to buyer
• HRC, US: Tradeable value at $465/st, ex-works Midwest, according to buyer
• HRC, US: Tradeable value at $480/st, ex-works Midwest, according to buyer
• HRC, US: Tradeable value at $480/st, ex-works Midwest, according to buyer
• HRC, US: Tradeable value at $460/st, ex-works Midwest, according to buyer
• HRC, US: Tradeable value at $495/st, ex-works Midwest, according to buyer
• HRC, US: Tradeable value at $470/st, ex-works Midwest, according to buyer
• HRC, US: Tradeable value at $470/st, ex-works Midwest, according to buyer
• HRC, US: Tradeable value at $465/st, ex-works Midwest, according to buyer