• Skip to main content

    Prices

    November 21, 2024

    Nearby HR futures pull back as 2024 nears end

    Written by Mark Novakovich

    After experiencing a rally ahead of the 2024 election, the nearby part of CME HRC futures complex has softened as we approach year-end. Meanwhile, the forward positions (second half of 2025) have remained supported and largely unchanged.

    The December ’24 HRC futures contract hit a 30-day high on Nov. 7 at $749 per short ton (st), but has since slid down to close today at $695/st. Enthusiasm in the marketplace about the longer-term potential benefits to steel demand under a second Trump administration, combined with uncertainty about additional tariff impacts, has since given way to the near-term reality on the ground among steel consumers and producers alike.

    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.

    Read more from Mark Novakovich

    Latest in Prices

    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.