UNITED STATES March 28 2014 10:45 AM

NEW YORK (Scrap Register): United States hot rolled cold (HRC) steel prices declined by 0.8% week-on-week to $621 a short ton in the week ended March 21th this year, as per the latest figures released by the The Steel Index (TSI).

According to TSI, US HRC index lost by $5 a short ton during this week, as the spot market continued to suffer from the limited trading activity.

In an attempt to stop price erosion, major US producers announced a price hike, taking the HRC price to $660 a short ton. ton effective immediately.

As justification the mills quoted strong demand from some sectors (e.g. automotive) amongst other reasons, but market participants are questioning to what extent this price increase will be realised.