Steel Prices

U.S. Steel Raises Sheet Prices by $100/ton
Written by Michael Cowden
October 19, 2023
U.S. Steel on Thursday said it planned to increase spot base prices for steel sheet by at least $100 per ton ($5 per cwt).
The price hike was effective immediately, according to a letter from Chief Commercial Officer Ken Jaycox to his top sales lieutenants.
The increase from the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker follows price hikes announced earlier in the day by competitors Nucor and Cleveland-Cliffs.
It means that all major domestic sheet mills that publish price hikes have made a coordinated move to push prices higher.
Recall that there are four major sheet mills in the US: Cliffs, Nucor, Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), and U.S. Steel. But SDI does not typically announce price moves.
Cliffs announced a sheet price hike in late September that was quietly followed by other domestic mills. There has not been a public, coordinated attempt to increase prices since June.
Cliffs and Nucor set target base prices of $800 per ton for hot-rolled coil. That implies a target price of at least $1,000 per ton for cold-rolled and coated products.
U.S. Steel did not announce a target price. But market participants said the company was now seeking at least as much for sheet as its competitors.

Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Steel Prices

Nucor keeps HR price at $910/ton
Nucor is holding its list price for spot hot-rolled coil at $910 per short ton (st), unchanged since June 30.

CRU: Q3 will be the lowest point in current sheet price cycle
CRU Principal Analyst Shankhadeep Mukherjee expects a restocking cycle for steel sheet products in most parts of the world due to either low inventories or seasonally stronger demand.

HRC vs. busheling spread widens again in July
The price spread between prime scrap and hot-rolled coil widened marginally again in July.

HR Futures: Summertime blues
Coming out of the holiday market and long weekend, it seems the HRC futures market has caught some post-vacation blues.

S232 tariffs keep US HR prices below imports from EU
Hot-rolled (HR) coil prices in the US ticked down this week but have fluctuated little over the past month. Stateside tags continue to trail imports from Europe, supported by Section 232 steel tariffs that were doubled in early June.