HRB prices mixed — U.S. and World Export down; China and Western Europe up

The bi-monthly SteelBenchmarker™ United States HRB spot price for Oct. 11 fell 3.4 percent to $631 per metric ton, FOB the mill, for the second consecutive decline. The World export HRB price declined 1.8 percent to $612 per ton, FOB the port of export, after five consecutive increases. The Chinese HRB ex-works price rose 1.7 percent to $548 per ton after declining two weeks ago. The Western European HRB price rose 1.2 percent to $700 per ton (on a Euro basis, it fell 1.6 percent), ex-works, after a flat performance two weeks ago.

The four benchmark prices for HRB for Oct. 11, 2010 are:

• U.S.—$631 per metric ton ($573 per net ton), FOB the mill—down $22 per ton from $653 ($592 net) two weeks ago and down $145 per ton from the recent high of $776 ($704 net) on May 10, 2010. It is up $202 per ton from the recent low of $429 ($390 net) on May 25, 2009 and down $572 (47.5 percent) per ton from the record peak of $1,203 ($1,091 net) on July 28, 2008.
• China—$548 per metric ton, ex-works—up $9 per ton from $539 two weeks ago and down $26 per ton from the recent high of $574 on April 26, 2010. It is up $157 per ton from the recent low of $391 on April 13, 2009 but down $185 (25.2 percent) from the record peak of $733 on July 14, 2008.
• Western Europe—$700 (€506 per metric ton, ex-works—up $8 per ton from $692 weeks ago (€514) two weeks ago (on a Euro basis, it was down €8) and down $42 (€78) per ton from the recent high of $742 (€584) on May 10, 2010. It is up $247 (€167) from the recent low of $453 (€339) on April 27, 2009 and down $504 (€250) (41.9 percent) per ton from the record peak of $1,204 €756) on July 14, 2008.
• World Export Price—$612 per metric ton, FOB the port of export—down $11 per ton from $623 two weeks ago and down $106 per ton from the recent high of $718 on April 26, 2010. It is up $218 per ton from the recent low $394 on May 11, 2009 and down $501 (45.0 percent) per ton from the record peak of $1,113 on July 28, 2008.

SteelBenchmarker™ publishes steel benchmark prices for hot-rolled band, cold-rolled coil, rebar and standard plate in the following regions: the U.S., Western Europe, and the world export market. Additionally, there are benchmark prices for steel scrap in the U.S.