Pricing for hot rolled coil in the US has weakened this week while market participants digest recent moves by domestic mills to begin regularly publishing their HRC spot price, Kallanish learns.

The weekly hot-roll prices declined particularly on the low end of their range, with most spot transactions occurring within $800-850/short ton, from last week's range of $840-860/st. Cold rolled coil prices have dropped to $1,150-1,225/st, from $1,200-1,220/st last week, sources report.

A mill source explains the role that Nucor’s latest weekly consumer spot price (CSP) strategy (see Kallanish passim) has played in the US sheet market thus far.

“Nucor’s CSP has just served to freeze the market right now and create uncertainty. Other mills are selling below the Nucor CSP and still other mills are selling above it! Geography plays a role in pricing,” the competing mill source says. 

The operator of a Midwestern service centre says neither Nucor’s CSP, nor Cleveland-Cliffs' recent introduction of a monthly spot price update (see Kallanish 26 April), is going to have a mitigating effect on speculation. Nucor in particular had argued that publishing the CSP would improve transparency. 

“I can't imagine how it reduces speculation or risk," the service centre source says.

In the equivalent week of 2023, HRC prices ranged from $1,175-1,200/st and CRC prices were $1,300-1,350/st. All prices are ex-works domestic mill