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    Hot Rolled Futures: Mixed Messages in the Ferrous Complex

    Written by Tim Stevenson


    SMU contributor Tim Stevenson is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Tim’s previous role, he was a Director at Cargill Risk Management, and prior to that led the derivative trading efforts within the North American Cargill Metals business. You can learn more about Metal Edge at www.metaledgepartners.com. Tim can be reached at Tim@metaledgepartners.com for queries/comments/questions.

    We’ve seen a small pullback in the forward HRC curve over the past week, with most of the weakness out in 2021. We’d regard this move as mostly “noise” and not indicative of any major change in opinions. While not reflected in the chart below, there was some renewed selling pressure today that pushed things lower. This may be a result of the hard selloff in the stock market today or traders being concerned with renewed steel price weakness developing.

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    Plate supply squeeze tightens as demand presses higher

    The domestic plate market is showing few signs of relief for steel buyers. Lead times are stretching well beyond seasonal norms, spot availability has all but evaporated, and mills are drawing hard lines on contract volumes heading into 2027 negotiations. And the supply squeeze will likely intensify in a market that some industry sources say is structurally undersupplied because of stringent US trade and tariff policies. Imports have been arriving in larger volumes, and the expectation is they will continue to tick higher into 2027. The big question is whether those foreign tons will arrive in volumes sufficient to provide the relief steel consumers want.