BREAKING NEWS: Cliffs raises prices, seeks $950/ton for July spot HR

“Cleveland-Cliffs reserves the right to revise pricing through the July booking window,” the company added.

The $950/st July price represents a $40/st increase from Cliffs’ list price of $910/st for June spot tons. But it’s $25/st lower than the company’s $975/st list price in May, according to SMU’s price announcement calendar.

Cliffs’ increase means that the company is now seeking $50/st more for HR than Nucor, one of its EAF competitors. Charlotte, N.C,-based Nucor on Monday increased its list price for HR coil to $900/st, which is $50/st below Cliffs’ list price.

SMU’s price assessment for HR stood at $860/st on average on Monday. We will update our prices again on Tuesday evening.

The price hikes follow President Trump doubling of Section 232 tariffs on imported steel from 25% to 50%. That move, which went into effect on June 4, raised the price for imports. And imports typically provide the floor for domestic pricing.

The tariff hike also stimulated some buying and resulted in slightly longer lead times at domestic mills. It also caused service centers to stop cutting prices as aggressively as they had been. But demand to date has not notably improved in response to the higher prices and higher tariff level.

There had been chatter after Trump first announced his intention to raise Section 232 tariffs to 50% that US mills might announce price increases of as much as $100/st and that HR prices could hit $1,000/st. But such talk died out after news broke that the US was in talks with Mexico, and potentially other trading partners, about lowering the 50% rate.