World, Western Europe, China HRB prices up; U.S. prices down

The bi-monthly SteelBenchmarker™ World export HRB price for August 22 rose 2.2 percent to $710 per ton, FOB the port of export, for the second consecutive increase. The Western European HRB price rose 0.7 percent to $753 per ton (on a Euro basis, it declined 0.8 percent), ex-works, after falling six consecutive times. The Chinese HRB ex-works price rose 0.6 percent to $637 per ton for the fourth consecutive increase. The U.S. HRB price spot for July 25 slipped 0.1 percent to $731 per ton, FOB the mill, for the tenth consecutive decline.

The four benchmark prices for HRB for August 22, 2011 are:

• U.S.—$731 per metric ton ($663 per net ton), FOB the mill—down $1 per ton from $732 ($664 net) two weeks ago but up $130 per ton from the recent low of $601 ($545 net) on Nov. 8, 2010. It is down $6 per ton from the previous high of $776 ($704 net) on May 10, 2010 and down $472 (39.2 percent) per ton from the record peak of $1,203 ($1,091 net) on July 28, 2008.
• China—$637 per metric ton, ex-works—up $4 per ton from $633 two weeks ago and up $155 per ton from the recent low of $482 on July 12, 2010. It is up $63 per ton from the previous high of $574 on April 26, 2010, but down $96 (13.1 percent) from the record peak of $733 on July 14, 2008.
• Western Europe—$753 (€520 per metric ton, ex-works—up $5 per ton from $748 (€524) two weeks ago (on a Euro basis, it was down €4) but up $85 (€26) per ton from the recent low of $668 (€494) on Nov. 22, 2010. It is up $11 (down €64) from the previous high of $742 (€584) on May 10, 2010 but down $451 (€236) (37.5 percent) per ton from the record peak of $1,204 €756) on July 14, 2008.
• World Export Price—$710 per metric ton, FOB the port of export—up $15 per ton from $695 two weeks ago and up $126 per ton from the recent low of $584 on July 12, 2010. It is down $8 per ton from the previous high of $718 on April 26, 2010 and down $403 (36.2 percent) per ton from the record peak of $1,113 on July 28, 2008.

SteelBenchmarker™ publishes steel benchmark prices for hot-rolled band, cold-rolled coil, rebar and standard plate in the following regions: the U.S., Western Europe, and the world export market. Additionally, there are benchmark prices for steel scrap in the U.S.