Raw Materials Drove Finished Steel Higher, Intraday Trading of Hot-Rolled and Cold-Rolled Products Improved

Published: Apr 15, 2026 17:06

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Raw material prices strengthened today, driving finished steel prices to edge up. The most-traded hot-rolled coil contract closed at 3,290 at the end of the session, up 0.34%. Spot market side, quoted prices in multiple regions edged up accordingly. Cold-rolled side, cold-rolled prices mostly held steady today, with no obvious follow-up gains yet. Going forward, short-term bearish factors on the ore side have been fully priced in, and coking coal and coke prices trended stronger, providing relatively strong cost support in the near term. Hot-rolled coil fundamentals side, inventory drawdowns this week were expected to accelerate WoW, with limited accumulation of supply-demand imbalance. The most-traded hot-rolled coil contract was expected to move sideways in the short term.

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