HRB price increases continue

SteelBenchmarker™reported that the U.S. HRB spot price for June 9 rose 0.7 percent to $1,166 per ton, FOB the mill, for the fifteenth consecutive rise totaling $589. The Western European HRB price rose 2.9 percent to $1,119 per ton, ex-works, for the ninth consecutive time totaling $439 (on a Euro basis, it rose 4.6 percent). The world export HRB price rose 2.4 percent to $1,076 per ton, FOB the port of export for the thirteenth consecutive rise totaling $495. The Chinese HRB ex-works price rose 2.1 percent to $719 per for the fifth consecutive rise.

The four benchmark prices for HRB for June 9, 2008 are:

• U.S.—$1,166 per metric ton ($1,058 per net ton), FOB the mill—up $8 per ton from $1,158 ($1,051net) two weeks ago, up $606 per ton from the recent low of $560 ($508 net) on Aug. 13, 2007, and up $536 per ton from the recent high of $630 ($571 net) on April 9, 2007.
• World Export Price—$1,076 per metric ton, FOB the port of export—up $25 per ton from $1,051 two weeks ago, up $526 per ton from the recent low of $550 on July 23, 2007, and up $480 per ton from the recent high of $596 on March 26, 2007.
• Western Europe— $1,152 (€744) per metric ton, ex-works—up $33 per ton from $1,119(€711) two weeks ago (on a Euro basis, it was up €33), up $489 per ton from the recent low of $663 (€479) on July 23, 2007 (on a Euro basis, it was up €265), and up $456 per ton from the recent high of $696 (€522) on June 11, 2007.
• China— $719 per metric ton, ex-works—up $15 per ton from $704 two weeks ago, up $249 per ton from the recent low of $470 on Oct. 22, 2007 (the previous low was $402 on July 9, 2007), and up $232 per ton from the previous high of $487 on Sept. 10, 2007.

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.