July 8, 2025

USA Ferrous Scrap Settles Sideways; HRC Market Steady

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Ferrous scrap prices for July settled sideways just ahead of the long US holiday weekend, according to recycling market participants. July prices on a par with June were not a surprise, but most market players had said early last week that the scrap buy week would not conclude until after the US July 4th holiday. 

“There was sideways support on both sides just before the holiday, so why prolong things?” a seller said. The steady July pricing means that scrap prices for most grades and regions are unchanged since May. 

Also unchanged this week was Nucor’s Consumer Spot Price (CSP) for hot-rolled coil (HRC) at $910 per ton for the second week in a row. The steel producer’s price indicator was, in fact, $910/ton on May 5 before slipping to $870 per ton by June 2, and then gradually rising to its current level.

Flat-rolled market participants described a slow buying period to start July but explained that is more likely because of extended holiday/vacation time than it is a reflection on market activity.

“Scrap was sideways again, HRC has been around $900 per ton for some time now; price stability can be a good thing,” a steel distributor said, “especially after uncertainty around the impact of tariffs.”

Some tariff clarity, in fact, came via Truth Social with President Trump posting images of letters about the trade deals negotiated with Japan and South Korea. The new reciprocal tariff rate announced last week was said to be separate from existing sectoral duties on certain products. The assumption is that for any trade deal, such as Vietnam, the 50% Sec 232 tariff rate on steel remains.

According to the official White House fact sheet, President Trump sent letters to many countries explaining that, starting August 1, they will be subject to new reciprocal tariff rates. In some instances, countries will be subject to a revised reciprocal tariff rate that is lower than the rate initially announced on April 2. For others, the reciprocal tariff rate may be higher than the previous rate.

The countries he sent letters to include:

  • Japan (25%)
  • Korea (25%)
  • South Africa (30%)
  • Kazakhstan (25%)
  • Laos (40%)
  • Malaysia (25%)
  • Myanmar (40%)
  • Tunisia (25%)
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina (30%)
  • Indonesia (32%)
  • Bangladesh (35%)
  • Serbia (35%)
  • Cambodia (36%)
  • Thailand (36%)