Hot Rolled Futures

Hot-rolled coil (HRC) steel futures are used as a hedging tool for producers and users of steel and provide an index-based price discovery mechanism. In addition, they:

  • – Offer hedging opportunities throughout the steel supply chain, from steel mills to steel service centers, distributors, merchants, and end-users.
  • – Reflect the growing use of index-based pricing in tandem with the increase in steel price volatility.
  • – Provide price assessments based on actual spot transactions in the market, with all the data providers directly involved in buying and selling the relevant steel product on the spot market.

Things to know about the contracts:

  • – Based on the index price of US Midwest domestic hot-rolled coil steel (Globex Code: HRCM5).
  • – Financially settled and traded electronically only on CME Globex.

About HRC steel

Steel is one of the most ubiquitous commodities yet the hardest to set specifications and prices for. There is no single global price for steel since there are many different physical and chemical properties relating to steel and more than 3,500 finished steel products. This is primarily because steel is not an element on the periodic table, as is gold or copper, but an alloy of iron and carbon. Nearly all the world’s steel is a carbon-based alloy, comprising greater than 90% iron and less than 2% carbon, with the balance being made up of additives for strength and finish.

The table below shows the latest weekly hot-rolled steel future settlement figures compared to the previous week. The graph below shows the hot-rolled steel futures forward curve, with an additional red line showing the curve from four weeks prior. There is also a tab to view the data behind this chart. This data is updated each Friday.

CME Hot-Rolled Coil Futures as of May 15 (final)

  • CME HRC Futures Forward Curve Chart
  • CME HRC Futures Forward Curve Table

CME Hot-Rolled Coil Futures Forward Curve as of May 15, 2025