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SteelBenchmarker: HRB Price Downdraft Continues

The bi-monthly SteelBenchmarker™ World export HRB price for 27 May 2013 fell 1.3% to US$546 per tonne, FOB the port of export, for the sixth consecutive time. The United States HRB spot price fell 1.5% to US$637 per tonne, FOB the mill, for the fifth consecutive time.
The Western European HRB price fell 2.4% to US$602 per tonne (on a Euro basis, it was down 2.1%), exworks, for the eighth consecutive time. The Chinese HRB ex-works price fell 3.0% to US$484 per tonne, for the seventh consecutive time.
In its one hundred seventy second report, the SteelBenchmarker™ released 10 steel product and 3 USA scrap prices. Of these, here are four benchmark prices for hot-rolled band for 27 May 2013:
USA – US$637 per tonne (US$578 per net ton), FOB the mill – down US$10 per tonne from US$647 (US$587 ton) two weeks ago, down US$15 per tonne from the recent low of US$652 (US$591 ton) on 22 October 2012, and down US$179 per tonne from the recent high of US$816 (US$740 ton) on 23 January 2012. It is down US$566 (47.0%) per tonne from the record peak of US$1,203 (US$1,091 ton) on 28 July 2008.
China – US$484 per tonne, ex-works – down US$15 per tonne from US$499 two weeks ago, up US$77 per tonne from the previous low of US$407 on 12 October 2009, and down US$153 per tonne from the recent high of US$637 on 22 August 2011. It is down US$249 (34.0%) from the record peak of US$733 on 14 July 2008.
Western Europe – US$602 (€465) per tonne, ex-works – down US$15 per tonne from US$617 (€475) per tonne two weeks ago (on a Euro basis, it was down €10), up US$31 (up €84) from the previous low of US$571 (€381) on 23 November 2009, and down US$98 (€55) per tonne from the recent high of US$700 (€520) on 27 February 2012. It is down US$602 (€291) (50.0%) from the record peak of US$1,204 (€756) on 14 July 2008.
World Export Price – US$546 per tonne, FOB the port of export – down US$7 per tonne from US$553 two weeks ago, up US$50 per tonne from the previous low of US$496 on 9 November 2009, and down US$110 per tonne from the recent high of US$656 on 12 March 2012. It is down US$567 (50.9%) per tonne from the record peak of US$1,113 on 28 July 2008.