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 June 5 (final)
Date
Latest
Change
Previous
June 1, 2025
878
36
842
July 1, 2025
924
122
802
August 1, 2025
905
117
788
September 1, 2025
890
97
793
October 1, 2025
870
74
796
November 1, 2025
855
50
805
December 1, 2025
860
50
810
January 1, 2026
852
26
826
February 1, 2026
852
21
831
March 1, 2026
853
18
835
April 1, 2026
861
16
845
May 1, 2026
863
16
847
June 1, 2026
863
16
847
Date
Latest
Change
Previous
CME HRC Futures Forward Curve Chart
CME HRC Futures Forward Curve Table
CME Hot-Rolled Coil Futures Forward Curve as of June 5, 2025