Prices for most foreign flat-rolled steel imported into the United States have continued to trend lower, with offshore material becoming less attractive due to falling domestic prices.
That's especially true in the case of hot-rolled coil, where US prices have fallen below $680 per short ton ($34 per hundredweight) for the first time since late February."In today's market, it's hard to put a deal together on hot-rolled coil unless you are super cheap," one Gulf Coast importer said. "Any importer swimming upstream is... adding freight - and you just don't have that room."Hot-rolled coilFastmarkets AMM's price assessment for imported hot-rolled coil at Houston docks has slipped to $650-680 per ton, down from $660-700 per ton previously. The range includes offers for Egyptian, Serbian and South Korean HRC for spring shipment and summer delivery to US ports.Western European offers were at or above $700 per ton but did not appear to be gaining traction because of lower US prices.Fastmarkets AMM's daily Midwest hot-rolled coil index was...