US HRC: Prices continue upward

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) spot prices edged up on small volumes of sales and purchases and tight supply.

The Argus weekly domestic US HRC Midwest assessment rose by $10/short ton (st) to $1,850/st ex-works. Lead times fell to 5-8 weeks from 7-9 weeks.

The Argus weekly domestic US HRC south assessment increased by $10/st to $1,850/st.

Most HRC pricing was reported in the mid-$1,800s/st, with one spot deal of 500st in the south for August and an integrated mill selling HRC at $1,830/st. A handful of sources noted a low range of $1,800/st for HRC pricing.

Electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker Nucor recorded a record $1.5bn profit in the second quarter, and expects to best that in the third quarter. The company is aiming to double its tons to the automotive industry to 3mn st/yr over the next several years.

EAF steelmaker Steel Dynamics delayed the start of its Texas mill in Sinton to mid-November, and lowered the expected production from that mill in 2021 to 100,000st.

Both steelmakers expect the market to remain elevated through the rest of 2021.

The spread between #1 busheling scrap delivered US Midwest mills and HRC selling prices rose by less than a percent to $1,276/st from $1,266/st the week before to a new record high spread. The spread could widen further if August monthly ferrous scrap prices face downward pressure.

The spread is nearly six times higher than a year ago, when it was $214/st.

The Argus weekly domestic US cold-rolled coil (CRC) and hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) assessments both rose by $10/st to $2,060/st.

Lead times for CRC rose to 9-12 weeks from 6-11 weeks, while HDG lead times extended to 9-12 weeks from 10-12 weeks.

The CME HRC Midwest futures market mostly fell in the last week, and remain heavily in backwardation. September futures pricing rose slightly by $8/st to $1,778/st, while October pricing fell by $12/st to $1,708/st. November pricing fell by $33/st to $1,652/st, while December futures pricing fell by $45/st to $1,605/st. January futures pricing dropped by $49/st to $1,532/st.

HRC import prices into Houston were flat at $1,600/st ddp, with regions from Asia to Europe reportedly interested in selling into the US.

Plate

The Argus weekly domestic US plate assessment rose by $51.75/st to $1,640/st delivered as higher prices from increases last week flowed into the market. Lead times extended to 6-9 weeks from 7-8 weeks.