Spot steel prices continue mostly down

SteelBenchmarker™reported that the U.S. hot-rolled band (HRB) spot price for June 11 dropped 1.8 percent to $597 per metric ton, FOB the mill for the fourth consecutive drop. The world export HRB price dropped 1.6 percent to $571 per ton, FOB the port of export for the fifth consecutive time. The Chinese HRB ex-works price plummeted 4.3 percent to $422 per ton for the second consecutive drop. The Western European HRB price rose 1.2 percent to $696 per ton, ex-works, for the second consecutive rise.

The four benchmark prices for hot-rolled band included in the June 11 report are:

• U.S.—$597 per metric ton, FOB the mill—down $11 per ton from $608 two weeks ago but up $26 per ton from the low of $571 on Jan. 22, 2007, and down $101 per ton from the previous high of $698 on July 24, 2006.
• World Export Price—$571 per metric ton, FOB the port of export—down $9 per ton from $580 two weeks ago, but up $72 per ton from the previous low of $499 on Dec. 11, 2006, and down $39 per ton from the peak of $610 on June 12, 2006.
• Western Europe— $696 per metric ton, ex-works—up $8 per ton from $688 two weeks ago and up $140 per ton from the low of $556 on Nov. 27, 2006, and up $65 per ton from the previous peak of $631 reached on July 24, 2006.
• China— $422 per metric ton, ex-works—down $19 per ton from $441 two weeks ago but up $49 per ton from the low of $373 on July 24, 2006, and down $42 per ton below the high of $464 on June 12, 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.