Steel prices on the move

SteelBenchmarker™reported that the U.S. hot-rolled band (HRB) spot price for May 14 dropped 1.9 percent to $513 per metric ton, FOB the mill for the second consecutive drop. The world export HRB price slipped 0.8 percent to $584 per ton, FOB the port of export for the third consecutive time. The Chinese HRB ex-works price rose 2.0 percent to $457 per ton for the third consecutive rise. The Western European HRB price slipped 0.6 percent to $687 per ton, ex-works, after 10 consecutive rises.

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

• U.S.—$613 per metric ton, FOB the mill—down $12 per ton from $625 two weeks ago but up $42 per ton from the low of $571 on Jan. 22, 2007, and down $85 per ton from the previous high of $698 on July 24, 2006.
• World Export Price—$584 per metric ton, FOB the port of export—down $5 per ton from $589 two weeks ago, but up $85 per ton from the previous low of $499 on Dec. 11, 2006, and down $26 per ton from the peak of $610 on June 12, 2006.
• Western Europe— $687 per metric ton, ex-works—down $4 per ton from $691 two weeks ago and up $131 per ton from the low of $556 on Nov. 27, 2006, and up $56 per ton from the previous peak of $631 reached on July 24, 2006.
• China— $457 per metric ton, ex-works—up $9 per ton from $448 two weeks ago and up $84 per ton from the low of $373 on July 24, 2006, and down $7 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.