Posted on 13 Apr 2022
US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices paused for the first time since the beginning of March as the market digested a weaker-than-expected scrap trade.
The Argus weekly domestic US HRC Midwest and southern assessments were both flat at $1,500/st.
Both prices are up by 47pc since hitting a low around $1,022/st on 1 March.
HRC lead times in the Midwest rose slightly to 6-7 weeks from 5-6 weeks, as mills were said to be booking for late-May or beginning to cross over into June.
HRC offers were heard mostly at $1,500/st, with some heard on either side of that mark.
The US prime scrap market traded up $75/gross ton in the April trade, a historically large increase, but below some expectations that prices would increase $100/gt or more.
The weaker than expected scrap trade combined with flat pig iron prices tempered pricing expectations in the finished steel market.
Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine is in advanced negotiations to sell an 80pc stake in its 2.2mn st/yr hot briquetted iron (HBI) plant in Corpus Christi, Texas. No buyer was announced, though electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker Steel Dynamics (SDI) recently opened its 3mn st/yr flat-rolled mill 20 miles from the HBI plant, and US Steel operates the Big River Steel EAF mill in Osceola, Arkansas, 700 miles away.
The spread between #1 busheling delivered US Midwest consumer and pig iron cfr New Orleans narrowed to $276/st.
HRC import prices into Houston were flat at $1,543/st ddp as import offers into the US were limited.
The spread between #1 busheling scrap delivered US Midwest mills and HRC selling prices fell by 3.6pc to $859/st. A year ago the spread was $828/st.
The spread between pig iron cfr New Orleans and Midwest and southern HRC prices were flat at $584/st.
The Argus weekly domestic US cold-rolled coil (CRC) and hot dipped galvanized (HDG) coil assessments were flat at $1,900/st.
Lead times for CRC were at eight weeks compared to 7-9 weeks while HDG lead times slipped to 7-8 weeks from 7-9 weeks.
The CME HRC Midwest futures market dropped sharply in the last week as sentiment weakened. May futures pricing plunged by $120/st to $1,475/st compared to the last week, while June pricing dropped by $111/st to $1,435/st. July future pricing fell by $105/st to $1,405/st, while August futures plumetted by $124/st to $1,366/st. September futures dropped by $94/st to $1,336/st, while October futures fell by $57/st to $1,298/st.
The Argus weekly domestic US ex-works plate assessment was flat at $1,910/st, as was the plate delivered assessment at $2,013/st. Lead times were also flat at 6-7 weeks.
Source:Argus Media
