• Skip to main content

    Prices

    August 14, 2014

    Hot Rolled Futures: Bull Market Becoming a Reality

    Written by Bradley Clark

    Pricing in the HRC futures market has continued slightly upward this week stemming from positive economic data and a bullish outlook within the steel industry.  September prices have been trading around $655-667, October prices have been trading between $640-657, and Q4 has traded between $645-651, all about $5-10 improvements week on week.  Further down the curve, Q1 15 and Cal 15 have seen slight upward movements, trading between $638-647.

    The recent move in prices has coincided with contradicting news regarding U.S. domestic supply as well as positive economic news on the demand side.  On the supply side, ArcelorMittal’s Indiana Harbor #7 blast furnace is in the ramp up phase, which will add approximately 10,000 tons a day to the market.  Additionally, June imports increased about 46 percent compared to June, 2013.  While imports were up year over year for June, they saw a 10 percent decrease compared to the previous month.  Further supply concerns stem from US Steel’s planned outage of a mill later this year as well as AK Steel’s Ashland furnace going down 3 times this past year.  On the demand side, automotive sales have continued upward with double digit increases in sales for July.  Broader manufacturing data has also indicated an economy favoring upward price movements for steel.  The July Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) increased to 57.1 – the 14th consecutive month of positive gains.  Concerns over future US supply accompanied by positive U.S. economic data has firmed prices at a higher level for the near term

    Bradley Clark

    Read more from Bradley Clark

    Latest in Prices

    Mills seek more scrap after lower prices fail to attract tons

    Several mills that bought October scrap early last week are still asking for additional supplies, scrap market participants said. The reason: the mills' initial prices did not attract enough of the raw material, they said. A trading source based in northern Ohio said three mills have contacted his firm seeking offers for additional tons. He said the mills asked for offers even if prices were higher than their original buys last week.

    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.