The hot-rolled-coil (HRC) steel price that Nucor charges its customers at all of its producing mills, its so-called Consumer Spot Price (CSP), increased a second straight week today by $10/nt ($11/mt) to $39.00 cwt. ($860/mt or $780/nt).
The move by the steel maker is seen by many market insiders as a continuing attempt to keep a floor beneath falling spot market steel prices, which have continued to languish in the US in the face of scant late-May demand and plentiful inventories.
Since Nucor established the CSP in early April, the price offer had declined nearly 10 percent until the first weekly increase was posted on May 20. Since inception, Nucor’s price offer has largely tracked lower prices seen in weekly steel spot markets.
Nucor’s California-based CSI base price was unchanged from the week prior at $42.00 cwt ($926/mt or $840/nt). Lead times for all spot orders were also unchanged at 3-5 weeks, Nucor said in its weekly announcement to customers.