Steel Prices
Cliffs seeks $670/ton for Sept HR
Written by Michael Cowden
July 26, 2024
Cleveland-Cliffs announced on Friday that it would seek $670 per short ton (st) for hot-rolled (HR) coil.
The steelmaker said the move was effectively immediately. It coincides with the opening of the company’s HR order book for September.
Cliffs also noted that it could make another announcement before it closes out September.
“Cleveland-Cliffs Steel will be monitoring several key market drivers in the next few weeks and reserves the right to modify pricing prior to completing the September booking availability,” the company said in a letter to customers.
Cliff’s September price is $50/st lower than the $720/st it announced for August. But it is higher than competitor Nucor’s current published price of $650/st.
Recall that Nucor updates HR prices weekly. Cliffs typically updates them once a month.
Regularly scheduled and published HR prices are relatively new to the US steel market. They started when Nucor introduced its weekly spot price in April. Some market participants contend that the announcements have changed the dynamics of sheet pricing.
SMU’s spot HR price stands at $635/st on average, down $5/st from last week and down $35/st from $670 a month ago. We will next update prices on Tuesday.
HR prices have been trending lower for most of the year. But market participants increasingly think that prices might be at or near a bottom.
Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Steel Prices
Gap between US HR prices and imports widens
SMU’s average price for domestic HR coil moved $5 higher this week, while price movements in offshore markets varied. This dynamic...
SMU Price Ranges: Sheet floor holds as market debates upside
Our average HR coil price increased $5/short ton from last week, marking a second consecutive week of modest gains. Market participants generally attributed the increase to...
Nucor HR spot price flat at $875/ton
Nucor kept its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled coil at $875 per short ton (st) for the ninth straight week.
HRC-galvanized price gap narrows
After marginally rising in August and September, the premium galvanized coil carries over hot-rolled coil (HRC) coil has narrowed again in recent weeks. As of Sept. 16, the spread between these two products has shrunk to a two-and-a-half-year low of $125 per short ton (st).
Hot-rolled sources say demand continues to dwindle, prices feel arbitrary
Genuine demand, they stated, will return when the market feels stable again.