Home / Metal News / US HRC Steel prices jump to $588 a short ton in December

US HRC Steel prices jump to $588 a short ton in December

iconJan 16, 2017 10:22
United States HRC steel prices jumped in December ahead of the holiday slowdown at the end of the month. Much of the increase in price was due to a global rise in the cost of raw materials—namely ferr

UNITED KINGDOM January 13 2017 1:21 PM

NEW YORK (Scrap Register): United States HRC steel prices jumped in December ahead of the holiday slowdown at the end of the month. Much of the increase in price was due to a global rise in the cost of raw materials—namely ferrous scrap. 

The jump in US scrap prices which, coupled with other raw materials price rises including coking coal and iron ore, led mills to hike HRC list prices.

The daily US HRC benchmark jumped $48 a short ton over a four-week period to close at $588 a short ton at the end of December. This represents a $111 a short ton price increase since November 1.

Following the recent presidential elections, the US has been experiencing what has been termed a “Trump bump” - a boost in markets and the manufacturing sector since the November election of Donald Trump as US President. 

While the president will not take office until January 20, his promises of an infrastructure plan, intention of supporting new pipelines, and plans to boost to domestic manufacturing has provided the US economy with a much needed boost.

HRC delivery lead-times (DLT) increased slightly over the course of the month. At the start of December they stood at 4.5 weeks from order, but had lengthened to 4.8 weeks by month-end. This is up from the start of November, when DLT stood at 3.8 weeks. 

The value of TSI’s US shredded scrap 10-day average index jumped by 19.9% from $236 a long ton in November to $283 a long ton in December, further supporting higher HRC prices.

Customs data from the US Department of Commerce for December indicated another drop in HRC imports. This is the continuation of a trend seen since July 2016. The trend looks set to continue due to the decreasing finished steel price spread between Asia and the US.

US HRC Steel prices

For queries, please contact Michael Jiang at michaeljiang@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please email service.en@smm.cn

SMM Events & Webinars

All