HRB spot steel prices continue upturn

SteelBenchmarker™reported that the U.S. hot-rolled band (HRB) spot price for Aug. 27 rose 0.9 percent to $565 per metric ton, FOB the mill, after falling eight consecutive times. The world export HRB price slipped 0.4 percent to $555 per ton, FOB the port of export, after rising two weeks ago. The Chinese HRB ex-works price surged 7.5 percent to $460 per ton for the third consecutive rise. The Western European HRB price rose 1.1 percent to $670 per ton, ex-works, after staying flat two weeks ago.

The four benchmark prices for hot-rolled band included in the Aug. 27 report are:

• U.S.—$565 per metric ton ($512 per net ton), FOB the mill—up $5 per ton from $560 ($508 nt) two weeks ago but down $65 per ton from the recent high of $630 ($571 nt) on April 9, 2007, and $6 per ton below the recent low of $571 ($518 nt) on Jan. 22, 2007.
• World Export Price—$555 per metric ton, FOB the port of export—down $2 per ton from $557 two weeks ago and down $41 per ton from the recent high of $596 on March 26, 2007, but up $56 per ton from the previous low of $499 on Dec. 11, 2006.
• Western Europe— $670 (€492) per metric ton, ex-works—up $7 per ton from $663 (€488) two weeks ago, but down $26 per ton from the recent high of $696 (€522) on June 11, 2007, and up $114 per ton from the low of $556 (€422) on Nov. 27, 2006.
• China— $460 per metric ton, ex-works—up $32 per ton from $428 two weeks ago and up $3 per ton from the recent high of $457 on May 14, 2007, and up $87 per ton from the low of $373 on July 24, 2006.

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.