US hot rolled coil (HRC) prices were flat this week as buyers remain nervous and limit their purchasing to contract volumes.
Mills continue to hold offer prices at the high end of their range but at least one has discussed selling at lower levels.
The Argus weekly domestic US HRC Midwest and southern assessments were flat at $1,175/short ton (st).
A mill source indicated their average HRC selling price was at $1,175/st for the last week with lead times in June, while a southern mill said they were offering, but not selling, at $1,200/st.
More buy-side contacts are reporting fewer price offers as they pull back further from the spot market and rely on their contracts to meet demand.
The Argus HRC Midwest lead times shrank to 7-8 weeks from 7-9 weeks, with market sources indicating lead times have continued to stall out early June.
One large service center said they are slowing the volume of their contract buying after purchasing to the maximum levels at the beginning of the year.
Others said their mill contracts are fulfilling their needs, with one saying they are filling inventory holes with material from the excess market.
Multiple service centers reported that mills have been delivering steel early, in some cases four weeks ahead of time.
Import pricing fell this week but longer lead times made imported material broadly unattractive to domestic buyers. The Argus HRC import assessment into Houston fell by $30/st to $950/st on offers from Brazil into Houston.
One buyer reported buying a few railcars of HRC material out of northern Mexico at $1,240/st delivered for July, which they estimated to be $1,120-1,140 ex-works. Korean offers were reported at $920/st ddp Houston for August delivery.
US CRC and HDG
The Argus weekly domestic US cold rolled coil (CRC) rose by $15/st to $1,375/st, while the hot dipped galvanized (HDG) coil assessment increased by $25/st to $1,375/st.
One mill reported selling CRC and HDG at an average of $1,375/st, while offer ranges for CRC were generally from $1,350-1,400/st and HDG were in a wider range, from $1,280-1,400/st.
Lead times for CRC and HDG both widened to 7-9 weeks from 8-9 weeks.
HDG supply appears to be getting looser, with one buyer reporting multiple mills pushing prices down into the lower-$1,300/st range. Appliance and construction continue to be the main drag on galvanized demand, while automotive remains resilient and improved over last year.
The CME HRC Midwest futures market was up in the last week by small amounts, and remained in backwardation. June futures prices rose by $26/st to $1,015/st, while July prices increased by $18/st to $938/st. August futures were up by $12/st to $900/st, while September prices edged up by $9/st to $869/st. October prices were up by $7/st to $856/st, and November prices rose by $14/st to $844/st.
Plate
The Argus weekly domestic US ex-works plate assessment jumped by $65/st to $1,600/st on higher spot prices from some mills and limited activity from others.
One buyer backed out ex-works prices of $1,680/st from a delivered price of $1,730/st. Others reported ex-works prices of a lot of $1,530/st, plate maker Nucor's published price.
Lead times widened to 7-9 weeks from eight weeks. The market continues to await Nucor's price announcement for June and then indications of how much availability there will be for the month.
The plate delivered assessment jumped by $90/st to $1,690/st on higher reported delivered pricing, with one steelmaker reported at $1,730/st and others at a low of $1,650/st.
