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    August 7, 2014

    Hot Rolled Futures: World in Turmoil

    Written by Andre Marshall

    Today’s hot rolled coil futures (HRC) article comes to us from Andre Marshall, CEO of Crunchrisk, LLC and our Managing Price Risk I & II instructor. In his article he will review the S&P 500, copper pricing, crude oil pricing, steel, iron ore and ferrous scrap futures trading:

    Well the S&P 500 reached its high at 1985.75 on July 24th only to lose 4 percent since. One could say it is due to the escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine, or the war in Gaza, or the lackluster performance of crude oil prices and natural gas prices, considered a benchmark of economic health. Or, it’s more like the market was looking for an excuse to pare back positions amidst altogether too good economic data at home.

    Andre Marshall

    Read more from Andre Marshall

    Latest in Prices

    Nucor increases spot HR to $1,240/ton

    Nucor said on Monday, Oct. 12, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,240 per short ton (st) this week, a $10/st increase from a week earlier. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,305/st, up $15/st from the prior week. Nucor is still offering lead times of three to five weeks, according to the letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update (SMU) published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Oct. 6, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,270/st, up $10/st from the previous week. We will update our prices on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 13.

    Leibowitz: US steel prices skyrocket above world prices. Which are right?

    Steel markets in the United States now feature supply shortages. Spot tons are well-nigh unavailable, and even contract tons are scarce. Based on the available statistics, the US market for flat-rolled products is seriously constrained. The US economy is still the strongest in the world, and manufacturing output remains vigorous. But the available supply is tight. The reason is fairly obvious. US domestic supply has increased a bit. Meanwhile, imports have fallen significantly.