American steel company, Cleveland-Cliffs, has announced an increase in prices for hot rolled steel (HRC) to $800 per short ton. This is $50 higher than the November level of $750 per ton. The company attributed the decision to improved market conditions and increased order volumes.
At the same time, another major steelmaker, Nucor, has maintained its HRC benchmark price at $750/mt for the sixth week in a row. The last time Nucor announced this price was on November 12, after which the market did not show any significant changes.
According to Kallanish, the US hot-rolled steel market is gradually recovering from the price decline in November. One of the representatives of the Midwest region confirmed that prices on the spot market have risen, but remain below the public offers of the mills. January contracts are expected to reach $615/mt, which is significantly different from the newly announced prices. Retail prices for HRC are still weakening slightly, but the lowest offers seen during Thanksgiving are no longer in place.
As of December 11, HRC prices on the spot market were in the range of $640-690/t, with orders already being extended to early 2025. This factor indicates a certain recovery in demand and stabilization of the steel market.
The price increase by Cleveland-Cliffs reflects the company’s confidence in improving market conditions and growing demand for its products. It may also signal further market strengthening in the next quarter. Manufacturers continue to adjust their strategy, focusing on the steady growth in demand in key sectors such as automotive, construction and energy.
In early December, Cleveland-Cliffs announced the opening of January booking for hot-rolled coils at $750/t, which was in line with the price level in October-November. At the same time, the company noted that the price could be adjusted depending on market conditions.
As GMK Center reported earlier, the global hot-rolled coil market was in a state of uncertainty in November. In particular, prices in the US experienced a significant decline despite attempts by leading producers to keep them at a higher level. The upper limit of prices decreased by 2.8% and the lower limit by 4.2%, reaching $680-700 per short tonne Ex-works.
