HRC price hovers above $51/cwt in US

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States dipped marginally on Tuesday December 29, moving just 7 cents per lb below the more than 12-year high reached a day earlier.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $51.22 per hundredweight ($1,024.40 per short ton) on Tuesday, down by 0.1% from $51.29 per cwt the previous day but still up by 3% from $49.74 per cwt on December 22.

Prices were received in a range of $50-55 per cwt across all three sub-indices, with mill data on the low end, distributor assessments on the high end and in the middle of the range, and consumer data in the middle.

Heard in the market
February and March tons are said to be largely sold out, although some sources still reported availability when needed. Buying is sparse, with no one wanting to be left holding high-priced inventory. Some sources said spot market activity is so thin that it’s becoming impossible to establish a price, and as a result current contract mechanisms are under review because steel purchasers can expect to pay very high prices in early 2021.

Imports, while now cheaper, are not a factor, since quotes are already out into the end of the second quarter, sources said. Canadian and Mexican mills that are having production issues will put a further crimp on availability, they said.

Quotes of the day
“Business is good; unfortunately we cannot take advantage of the pricing by selling more tons because there are no additional tons to sell,” one mill source said.

“Very little business is being done since there is not much in the way of spot tons to sell. I would guess they could ask for $55 [per cwt for hot rolled] today, and if someone needs it they will pay,” a midwestern distributor source said.

What to read next
Mexico’s production and consumption of long steel fell year-on-year in May due to weakness in the country's construction sector, but posted a month on month gain, according to the latest data from the Mexican steel chamber, CANACERO.
Despite the current headwinds, strategic partnerships and continued investment in the right areas, coupled with the underlying strong long-term demand fundamentals, will pave the way for success for lithium producers, according to the participants of the executive panel during the Fastmarkets Lithium Supply and Battery Raw Materials Conference, which took place from June 23-26 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The US and Europe must adopt long-term, consistent policies and should learn lessons from China, according to lithium industry experts speaking at Fastmarkets’ Lithium Supply and Battery Raw Materials Conference in Las Vegas, US, over June 22-25.
This consultation was done as an adhoc methodology review process, aiming to better reflect the physical market under indexation, considering its reduced liquidity linked to the combination of seasonal demand patterns and the implementation of cross-border import tariffs between the US and China. No feedback was received during the consultation period and therefore Fastmarkets will […]
Here are the key takeaways from market participants on US ferrous scrap metal prices, market confidence, inventory and more from our July survey.
Due to a system error, the market price for June 2 was used twice in the calculation of the weekly average for AG-FML-0008 Feathermeal, fob US Delmarva Peninsula, $/short ton, resulting in an error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated to reflect this change. Incorrect weekly average for May 31-June 6: $185-270 per short tonCorrect weekly average […]