HRB spot steel prices continue to rise

SteelBenchmarker™reported that the western European hot-rolled band (HRB) price for Feb. 11 erupted 8.0 percent to $770 per ton,, ex-works, after slipping two weeks ago (on a Euro basis, it roared ahead 9.1 percent). The U.S. (HRB) spot price surged 5.7 percent to $746 per metric ton, FOB the mill, for the seventh consecutive rise totaling $169. The world export HRB price surged 4.6 percent to $725 per ton, FOB the port of export, for the fifth consecutive rise totaling $144. The Chinese HRB ex-works price rose 0.9 percent to $549 per ton for the third consecutive rise.

The four benchmark prices for HRB for Feb. 11 are:

• U.S.—$746 per metric ton ($677 per net ton), FOB the mill—up $40 per ton from $706 ($641 net) two weeks ago and up $186 per ton from the recent low of $560 ($508 net) on Aug. 13, 2007, and up $116 per ton from the recent high of $630 ($571 net) on April 9, 2007.
• World Export Price—$725 per metric ton, FOB the port of export—up $32 per ton from $693 two weeks ago, and up $175 per ton from the recent low of $550 on July 23, 2007, and up $129 per ton from the recent high of $596 on March 26, 2007.
• Western Europe— $770 (€527) per metric ton, ex-works—up $57 per ton from $713 (€483) two weeks ago (on a Euro basis, it was up €44), and up $107 per ton from the recent low of $663 (€479) on July 23, 2007 (on a Euro basis, it was up €4), and up $74 per ton from the recent high of $696 (€522) on June 11, 2007.
• China— $549 per metric ton, ex-works—up $5 per ton from $544 two weeks ago, up $79 per ton from the recent low of $470 on Oct. 22, 2007 (the previous low was $402 on July 9, 2007), and up $62 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.