HRB spot steel prices climb

SteelBenchmarker™reported that the U.S. hot-rolled band (HRB) spot price for Jan. 14 surged 6.1 percent to $659 per metric ton, FOB the mill, for the fifth consecutive rise. The world export HRB price surged 5.3 percent to $633 per ton, FOB the port of export, for the third consecutive rise. The Chinese HRB ex-works price rose 3.4 percent to $543 per ton, after slipping last time. The Western European HRB price surged 4.7 percent to $718 per ton, ex-works, for the second consecutive rise.

The four benchmark prices for hot-rolled band included in the Jan. 14 report are:

• U.S.—$659 per metric ton ($598 per net ton), FOB the mill—up $38 per ton from $621 ($563 net) two weeks ago and up $99 per ton from the recent low of $560 ($508 net) on Aug. 13, 2007, and up $29 per ton from the recent high of $630 ($571 net) on April 9, 2007.
• World Export Price—$633 per metric ton, FOB the port of export—up $32 per ton from $601 three weeks ago, and up $83 per ton from the recent low of $550 on July 23, 2007, and up $37 per ton from the recent high of $596 on March 26, 2007.
• Western Europe— $718 (€483) per metric ton, ex-works—up $32 per ton from $686 (€476) three weeks ago (on a Euro basis, it was up €7), and up $55 per ton from the recent low of $663 (€479) on July 23, 2007 (on a Euro basis, it was up €4), and up $22 per ton from the recent high of $696 (€522) on June 11, 2007.
• China— $543 per metric ton, ex-works—up $18 per ton from $525 three weeks ago, up $73 per ton from the recent low of $470 on Oct. 22, 2007 (the previous low was $402 on July 9, 2007), and up $56 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.