HR futures drift lower as open interest grows

Despite a higher settle on Thursday on CME hot-rolled coil (HRC) futures, the pattern over the past four weeks has seen nearby steel futures prices drift lower, while the back of the 2025 curve has remained supported.

Market chatter about U.S. Steel raising prices, as well as various buy-side inquiries in 2025, lent some support for Thursday’s session. However, flat prices remain down from month-ago levels as various indices confirm lower physical prices.

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.

Mark Novakovich

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