Steel Prices

Cliffs opens May spot order book at $975/ton HR
Written by David Schollaert
April 11, 2025
Cleveland-Cliffs opened its May order book for spot material at $975 per short ton (st).
The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the increase was in “recognizing additional market opportunities from multiple onshoring initiatives” in a letter to customers dated Friday, April 11.
The price hike was effective immediately and marks a $75/st bump from the company’s previous list price of $900/st, per SMU’s price increase calendar.
Cliffs said the increase was also in part due to steady demand from contract customers in “critical steel-intensive markets.”
The move comes as US hot band prices declined for a third straight week. Uncertainty around tariffs, especially after “Liberation Day,” caused US prices to slip as buyers moved to the sidelines. And it’s unclear whether the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs, announced by President Trump on Wednesday, would see buyers return to the market.
SMU’s current HR coil price range is $840-970/st, with an average price of $905/st. That’s down $10/st from our previous assessment. We also calculated the average lead time for the HR sheet to be 5.5 weeks, down from 5.9 weeks in early March.

David Schollaert
Read more from David SchollaertLatest in Steel Prices

Nucor’s hot band list price holds at $875/ton
Nucor held its hot-rolled coil list price flat again this week, according to its Monday, Sept. 15 consumer spot price (CSP) notice.

Price gap between US CR, most imports widens
Cold-rolled (CR) coil prices ticked lower in the US this week, while prices in offshore markets mostly diverged and ticked higher.

Pig iron market outlook cloudy
The pig iron market in Brazil is currently in flux and there have been few, if any, confirmed cargoes transacted for the US.

USS increases Galvalume coating extras
U.S. Steel has revised its Galvalume coating extras higher effective Nov. 2, 2025. The steelmaker released new extras to customers on Friday, Sept. 12.

CRU Outlook: Global steel sheet prices set to rise, but the near-term uptrend will be limited
Sheet prices are expected to increase in the coming weeks in most markets. However, rising domestic capacity in the US, subdued demand in Europe, and high inventory levels in China and India will limit price near-term uptrend.