Steelmaker Nucor’s Consumer Spot Price (CSP) -the price charges for hot-rolled coils across all of its mills- was steady for a third week today as US steel market participants prepare for the beginning of the US holiday season beginning with the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, November 30.
In a letter to its customers, Nucor said its CSP was stable at $750/nt ($827/mt) or $37.50/cwt., FOB mill, up from $740/nt ($816/mt) or $37.00/cwt., most recently for the weeks of November 4 and October 28. Since October 14, the CSP price has increased by nearly 4.2 percent, while since July 15, the CSP has risen nearly 15.4 percent. The Nucor CSP price remains on par with its nearest competitor Cleveland Cliffs, which announced its Hot Rolled Market Price at $750/nt FOB mill on October 30.
Market insiders say recent posted price increases for hot rolled coils by Nucor and other competing mills are less the result of improved demand for finished steel products, and more likely the result of an expected decline in US steel imports in the new year as a result of increased tariffs on steel by now president-elect Donald Trump. Some insiders told SteelOrbis that hot-rolled coil pricing could potentially rise as much as $100/nt over the next several weeks as a result of the November 5 Trump presidential win.
Following three weeks of steady pricing, the SteelOrbis spot average for HRC was a bit higher this week at $670-772/nt ($739-772/mt), or $33.50-35.00/cwt. FOB mill, up from $660-680/nt ($728-750/mt), or $33.00-34.00/cwt., a week earlier. Lead times for HRC are reported unchanged at 4-6 weeks, insiders said, indicating markets remain well supplied amid limited new spot market requirements thus far in November.
Nucor’s California Steel Industries (CSI) monitor was also reported steady on the week at $810/nt ($893/mt) or $40.50/cwt., following its last $10/nt ($11/mt) increase on October 30.
Over the past several months, flagging finished steel demand resulted in Nucor reducing its CSP as low as $650/nt ($717/mt), or $32.50/cwt. during the week of July 15. Since that time, however, prices have fallen only once for two weeks on October 14 and October 21 to $720/nt ($794/mt) or $36.00/cwt., from $730/nt ($805/mt) or $36.50/cwt. Market insiders told SteelOrbis that Nucor has kept its posted CSP pricing above the mills’ variable cost of doing business because selling below that price could cause the mill to lose money, they said.
Since the first series of price increases were announced on July 29, Nucor’s CSP has increased 11.1 percent to its recent $750/nt high. Prior to the increases, Nucor’s CSP price had lost nearly 22 percent of its value on flagging demand for finished steel products since the CSP was first released in early April at $830/nt ($915/mt) or $41.50/cwt.