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SteelBenchmarker: Hot Rolled Band Prices Diverging
07/10/2013 - The bi-monthly SteelBenchmarker™ price report for 8 July 2013 showed U.S. and China prices up 4.5% and 1.7%, respectively, while the world export and Western Europe prices were down 0.6% and 2.6%
The bi-monthly SteelBenchmarker™ United States HRB spot price for 8 July 2013 rose 4.5% to $698 per tonne for the third consecutive time. The Chinese HRB price rose to $481 per tonne after no change during the prior period. The World export HRB price slipped 0.6% to $534 per tonne for the ninth consecutive time. The Western European HRB price fell 2.6% to $590 per tonne (on a Euro basis, it was down 1.5%) after rising during the prior period.
In its one hundred seventy fifth report, the SteelBenchmarker released 10 steel product and 3 USA scrap prices. Of these, here are four benchmark prices for hot-rolled band for 8 July 2013:
USA – $698 per tonne ($633 per ton), FOB the mill – up $30 per tonne from $668 ($606 ton) two weeks ago, up $46 from the recent low of $652 ($591 ton) on 22 October 2012 and up $145 from the low of $553 per tonne ($502 ton) on 23 November 2009. It is down $272 per tonne from the recent high of $970 ($880 ton) on 28 March 2011 and down $505 (42.0%) from the record peak of $1,203 per tonne ($1,091 ton) on 28 July 2008.
China – $481 per tonne, ex-works – up $8 per tonne from $473 two weeks ago, up $34 per tonne from the recent low of $447 on 10 September 2012 and up $74 from the low of $407 per tonne on 12 October 2009. It is down $156 per tonne from the recent high of $637 on 22 August 2011 and down $252 (34.4%) from the record peak of $733 per tonne on 14 July 2008.
Western Europe – $590 (€454) per tonne, ex-works – down $16 per tonne from $606 (€461) two weeks ago (on a Euro basis, it was down €7), down $1 (down €11) from the recent low of $591 (€465) on 12 November 2012 and up $19 (up €73) from the low of $571 (€381) per tonne on 23 November 2009. It is down $262 (€151) per tonne from the recent high of $852 (€605) on 28 March 2011 and down $614 (51.0%) (€302) (39.9%) from the record peak of $1,204 (€756) per tonne on 14 July 2008.
World Export Price – $534 per tonne, FOB the port of export – down $3 per tonne from $537 two weeks ago, but up $2 from recent low of $532 on 8 October 2012 and up $38 from the low of $496 per tonne on 9 November 2009. It is down $268 per tonne from the recent high of $802 on 14 February 2011 and down $579 (52.0%) from the record peak of $1,113 per tonne on 28 July 2008.
