Current average spot market prices for US domestic HSS tubing declined last week amid continued low demand and increased price pressure from short line mills, market insiders told SteelOrbis.
HSS prices are assessed at $60.50 cwt ($1,334/mt or $1,210/nt) FOB mill, down $3.50 cwt ($77.16 /mt or $70/nt) from earlier mid-April assessments at $64.00 cwt ($1,411/mt or $1,280/nt).
“The market for HSS is really soft right now,” said one SteelOrbis contact. “There’s a lot of price pressure being felt from the short line mills.”
HSS market contacts added that pricing in the tube markets continues to be influenced by movement in the flats markets which have recently been drifting lower.
In the flat rolled market, flagging late April demand saw US domestic spot HRC prices down $0.62/cwt or $13.67/mt this past week to $40.25-$41.50/cwt, ($887-$915/mt or $$805-$830/nt) FOB mill. Lead times for HRC are reported at about 4 weeks, down from a previous estimate of 3-7 weeks.