USA HRC Spot Prices Continue Steady Climb
Flat-rolled steel buyers and sellers in the US market tell WSD early this week that spot transactions for hot-rolled coil (HRC) continue to be limited by preference given to contract orders. The spot activity that is taking place, however, is now priced in a narrow band of $1,020-$1,030 per ton for typical order volumes, according to several market participants.
“We’re getting ahead of the planned mill outages (generally slated to start in April) to make sure we have enough material to satisfy our level of business—both now and projected,” a Midwest service center buyer told WSD. He described overall demand as “quite good.”
Nucor on Monday hiked its Consumer Spot Price (CSP) for HRC by $10 to $1,025 per ton—the tenth straight week of increases. Since January 20th, its price is up $75 per ton, or 8% from $950 per ton in early January. The CSI spot price on the West Coast is approaching $1,100 per ton, currently sitting at $1,075/ton, after also increasing a total of $75 per ton over the same span.
“We are seeing lead times for spot HRC now at 8-12 weeks, depending on the mill,” a steel distributor noted. “For us, non-residential construction has been the driver,” he added, “and energy markets are also strong.”
Another buyer with a service center in the southern US told WSD that infrastructure demand has been solid, especially from “AI-infrastructure or data centers, and projects related to the electrical grid—transmission and power plants.”
In early-Tuesday trading on the CME, quotes through the June contract all exceeded the $1,008 mark, with a noteworthy peak bid of $1,085 for the May contract. The April, May and June contracts had settled Monday at $1,039, $1,067, and $1,048, respectively.
“The lofty futures amounts appear to reflect sustained positive market sentiment for the next few months,” said a steel trader.