HRB spot steel prices continue to soar

SteelBenchmarker™reported that the U.S. HRB spot price for April 14 surged 16.0 percent to $1,003 per metric ton, FOB the mill, for the 11th consecutive rise totaling $426. The world export HRB price surged 8.7 percnet to $946 per ton, FOB the port of export for the ninth consecutive rise totaling $365. The Western European HRB price surged 8.3 percent to $1,007 per ton, ex-works, for the fifth consecutive time totaling $294 (on a Euro basis, it 6.9 percent). The Chinese HRB ex-works price rose 4.8 percent to $657 per ton, after slipping two weeks ago.

The four benchmark prices for HRB for April 14, 2008 are:

• U.S.—$1,003 per metric ton ($910 per net ton), FOB the mill—up $138 per ton from $865 ($784 net) three weeks ago and up $443 per ton from the recent low of $560 ($508 net) on Aug. 13, 2007, and up $373 per ton from the recent high of $630 ($571 net) on April 9, 2007.
• World Export Price—$946 per metric ton, FOB the port of export—up $76 per ton from $870 three weeks ago, up $396 per ton from the recent low of $550 on July 23, 2007, and up $350 per ton from the recent high of $596 on March 26, 2007.
• Western Europe— $1,007 (€637) per metric ton, ex-works—up $77 per ton from $930 (€579) three weeks ago (on a Euro basis, it was up €41), up $344 per ton from the recent low of $663 (€479) on July 23, 2007 (on a Euro basis, it was up €158), and up $311 per ton from the recent high of $696 (€522) on June 11, 2007.
• China— $657 per metric ton, ex-works—up $30 per ton from $627 three weeks ago, up $187 per ton from the recent low of $470 on Oct. 22, 2007 (the previous low was $402 on July 9, 2007), and up $170 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.