US HR price premium over imports narrows slightly

Hot-rolled (HR) coil prices ticked down in the US last week, while tags abroad varied. The result: US hot band margin over imports on a landed basis has narrowed to a slight extent.

SMU’s average domestic HR price last week was $685 per short ton (st), down $5/st from the week before. US hot band prices have recovered from a 20-month low of $635/st in late July. But prices have varied only slightly since – still averaging around $680/st.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

David Schollaert

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