US hot-rolled coil index reaches nearly 28-month high

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have resumed their uptrend, with buyers on the sidelines waiting for mills to open their order books amid limited material availability, sources told Fastmarkets.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $44 per hundredweight ($880 per short ton) on Wednesday December 9, up by 0.64% after slipping to $43.72 per cwt on Tuesday December 8 and up by 8.64% from $40.50 per cwt one week earlier.

The index is now at its highest since August 16, 2018, when the price was calculated at $44.47 per cwt

Heard in the market
Inputs were received in a range of $42-49 per cwt.

Mill have been receiving orders at roughly $45 per cwt, most market participants said, and sources expect the coil price to hit $50 per cwt – a level not seen since early September 2008 – soon.

Market participants also said there was not much spot activity currently, with buyers waiting for material availability and mills essentially able to name their price for coil.

Quotes of the day
“I think HRC is tight and the spot buyers will pay anything. As a result, that’s increasing the cost for the normal buyers,” a steel distributor said.

A consumer source said: “2020 is definitely not a normal year, there is no calm before the holidays this year… Steel mills are not quoting spot tons until they open up their order books, but when they do the tons are gone quickly.”

Index calculation
An input at the top end of end range was discarded by the assessor because there have not yet been any reports of customers submitting purchase orders at that level.

An input at the lower end of the range also was discarded because it no longer reflects the current pricing market. A non-transactional input was carried over within the producer sub-index due to a lack of relevant transactions.

What to read next
Investors in the US corn and wheat markets amassed shorts in the week to Tuesday May 13, moving corn from a net long to a net short for the first time since October, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed late on Friday May 16.
The UK’s domestic bioethanol industry could be at risk as a result of the recent trade deal announced between the UK and the US, industry members have warned.
Learn how timber imports affect the US economy regarding Canadian softwood lumber and future trade policies.
The recent US-China agreement to temporarily reduce tariffs is a major step for global trade, with tariffs on US goods entering China dropping from 125% to 10% and on Chinese goods entering the US decreasing from 145% to 30% starting May 14. While this has boosted markets and created optimism, key industries like autos and steel remain affected, leaving businesses waiting for clearer long-term trade policies.
BEK pulp prices in Europe dropped $40/tonne in April, driven by US import tariff uncertainties and weaker demand in China.
The US-China trade truce announced on May 12 has brought cautious optimism to China’s non-ferrous metals markets, signaling a possible shift in global trade. Starting May 14, the removal of additional tariffs has impacted sectors like battery raw materials, minor metals and base metals such as zinc and nickel, with mixed reactions. While the improved sentiment has lifted futures prices and trade activity, the long-term effects remain unclear due to challenges like supply-demand pressures and export controls.