Prices
August 10, 2017
Hot Rolled Futures: Global Rally in Raw Materials
Written by David Feldstein
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures markets was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel Market Update, Dave produces articles that our readers may find interesting under the heading “The Feldstein” on the Flack Global Metals website, www.FlackGlobalMetals.com.
The hype around the Section 232 investigation has been swept under the rug for the time being. Perhaps it will reappear down the road, but in the meantime there has been a breakneck global rally in ferrous raw materials, flat rolled, finished steel and base metal prices. The table below shows the performance of a cross section of these products since June 1. The table is sorted by percentage change. Midwest HRC prices are lagging behind. Considering the hike in cost of steelmaking raw materials, one should expect further domestic steel mill price increases in the near future as the higher costs are absorbed.
