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    April 3, 2014

    Hot Rolled Futures Nearby Surge…

    Written by Bradley Clark

    The recent upturn in the physical market has continued to fuel the upswing in steel futures prices as nearby periods have surged this past week. The May and June HRC contracts have traded to highs of $660/ton while second half periods have traded up to $643. The nearby prices have improved over $40 during the past few weeks while the back end has moved up $20.

    Events in the physical market have conspired to create a combustible situation in the market as two unplanned outages at US Steel Great Lakes as well as Gary have sent buyers scrambling to cover tons. Lead times are starting to push out and mills, even before the USS outages, have proven disciplined in their price offerings. It feels that it is a matter of days rather than weeks when a second round of price hikes will be announced to solidify these recent gains. 

    Bradley Clark

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