US hot-rolled steel coil prices moved up further Tuesday as domestic mills continued their efforts to push through a recently announced price increase, according to market sources.
The daily Platts TSI US HRC assessment was calculated at $626.75/st on Tuesday, up $5.75/st from Monday.
Mills seem to be holding the line on HRC offers in the mid-$600s, a service center source said. US mills last week began informing customers that they would be raising base prices for all sheet products by $30/st, effective immediately.
"I do get the feeling the mills certainly have some resolve," he said, adding that he was not planning on placing any spot orders ahead of Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday in the US.
A buy-side source said he was seeing HRC offers around $640/st Tuesday, however no transactions were reported at this level.
"Early on it seems the increase is having more of an effect on the hot-rolled market than it is for cold-rolled and coated," the buyer said. "There's not really much in the way of hot-rolled imports coming in, so it's really a domestic market these days."
Despite the upward momentum in the HRC market, cold-rolled coil and galvanized prices have not taken off to the same degree, a mill source said. However the most recent price increase could help to narrow the wide range of offer prices that have lingered in value-add markets, he said. "I would say things are trending up for HRC and more toward firming for CRC and galv," the mill source said. "I see November as a transitional month and then I think in December we'll see [CRC and galv] prices consolidate and potentially move up."
The daily Platts TSI US CRC assessment was calculated at $786/st Tuesday, up 75 cents from Monday.
The combined Platts TSI price indices use a volume-weighted average calculation -- according to TSI's standard -- to determine value on an ex-works Indiana basis.
