U.S. HRB spot steel price drops again

SteelBenchmarker™reported that the U.S. hot-rolled band (HRB) spot price for Dec. 11 fell 1.8 percent to $596 per ton, FOB the mill for the ninth drop in a row. The world export HRB price fell 1.6 percent to $499 per ton, FOB the port of export, for the twelfth decline in a row. The Chinese HRB ex-works price increased 0.8 percent to $389 per ton.

The four benchmark prices for hot-rolled band included in the Oct. 11 report are:

• U.S.—$595 per metric ton, FOB the mill—down $11per ton from $607 two weeks ago and down $102 per ton from the peak of $698 on July 24, 2006.
• World Export Price—$499 per metric ton, FOB the port of export—down $8 per ton versus $507 two weeks ago and down $111 per ton from the peak of $610 on June 12, 2006.
• Western Europe— $567 per metric ton, ex-works—up $11 per ton from $556 two weeks ago and down $64 per ton from the peak of $631 on July 24, 2006.
• China— $398 per metric ton, ex-works—up $11 per ton from $386 two weeks ago and down $75 per ton from the peak of $464 on June 12, 2006.

Twice each month, SteelBenchmarkerpublishes steel benchmark prices for hot-rolled band, cold-rolled coil, rebar, and standard plate in the U.S., Western Europe, mainland China, and the world export market.