Hot Rolled Futures Consolidate Losses

Written by: Bradley Clark, Director of Steel Trading, Kataman Metals

The physical HRC market continues to soften as mills offer steel at lower levels this week from a week before. The futures market has experienced a divergence in movements over the past week with the front of the curve weakening while the second half of the year is better bid. We see the Feb contract value at $610, March at $622 and April at $635 all down about $5 from last week. At the same time Q3 and Q4 periods have appreciated in value to $640 up about $5 from last week. This structural movement indicates a worsening sentiment for the coming couple of months but an optimism that the market will recover by the end of the year. We will see how this plays out, however sentiment feels pretty bearish out there at the moment.