U.S. HRB spot steel prices down, others up

SteelBenchmarker™reported that the U.S. hot-rolled band (HRB) spot price for Jan. 22 fell 1.2 percent to $571 per ton, FOB the mill for the 12th drop in a row. The world export HRB price was up slightly to $505 per ton, FOB the port of export, for the third time. The Chinese HRB ex-works price rose 1.4 percent to $423 per ton, for the fourth time. The Western European HRB price rose 2.1 percent to $593 per ton, ex-works, for the fourth time.

The four benchmark prices for hot-rolled band included in the Jan. 22 report are:

• U.S.—$571 per metric ton, FOB the mill—down $7per ton from $578 two weeks ago and down $127 per ton from the peak of $698 on July 24, 2006.
• World Export Price—$505 per metric ton, FOB the port of export—up $2 per ton from $503 two weeks ago but still down $105 per ton from the peak of $610 on June 12, 2006.
• Western Europe— $593 per metric ton, ex-works—up $12 per ton from $581 two weeks ago but still down $38 per ton from the peak of $631 on July 24, 2006. Note: SteelBenchmarker believes the Western Europe price is more representative of the Southern European Market.
• China— $423 per metric ton, ex-works—up $6 per ton from $417 two weeks ago but still down $41 per ton from the peak 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.