Nucor dropped its Consumer Spot Price (CSP), the price it charges its customers for hot rolled coils at all of its producing mills, by $5/nt ($6/mt) to $715/nt ($788/mt) FOB mill, the steel maker said today in a weekly letter to its customers.
This week’s dip follows a more substantial decline announcement on June 10, when the steel maker reduced its CSP by $60/nt ($66/mt), to $720/nt ($794/mt) FOB mill, a 7.69 percent week-on-week drop.
Flat-rolled market insiders said the recent Nucor CSP price declines could signal that HRC prices may be reaching a price floor. The current Nucor price represents the lowest CSP on record since the weekly announcements began in April.
Recent Nucor price declines come as flat steel prices continue to drop in US spot markets amid slack US demand for finished steel products and falling June scrap prices.
The most recent hot rolled coil prices are heard at $35-$36/cwt. ($700-$720/nt or $771-$794/mt), while US Midwest domestic busheling scrap settled down $40/gt ($39/mt) to $375/gt ($369/mt) for June versus May settled scrap values.
Although many market insiders contend it’s early in the month to make a solid July scrap call, several contacts reported a sideways-to-June expectation to SteelOrbis for July scrap values for domestic Midwest scrap. Early expectations for the US East Coast indicate a tighter scrap market, fueled by solid exports to Turkey and other European countries, could cause July scrap pricing to rise versus June settled values.