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    June 13, 2024

    HR futures: June trading remains muted

    Written by Mark Novakovich

    Trading activity for the CME HRC futures contract has been sporadic so far in June, with a few days seeing transacted volumes exceed 25,000 short tons (st). But overall activity remains muted. This follows a pattern that emerged over the course of May.

    Total open interest in the HRC contract is 488,000 st, down roughly 75,000 st from the highs seen towards the latter part of May. The entire curve structure has come under pressure. But the front end has softened the most dramatically, following a weakening physical market. Physical traders have reported soft demand and high inventory levels, which are moving slowly. Some participants have reported seeing tonnage offered in the mid-to-high $600s, with some July capacity still said to be available.

    Mark Novakovich

    Mark works at Crunch Risk LLC. He has nearly 20 years experience working in physical and financial commodity markets in various roles, including risk management, logistics, and trading. Most recently, Mark worked for S&P Global’s commodity division in sales and product development, where he was responsible for creating price benchmarks and financially-settled futures contracts.

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