Import prices for flat-rolled steel in the United States are mostly in line with levels recorded two weeks ago, although market participants have said that import volumes could recover if recent domestic price increases take full effect.
Fastmarkets AMM's assessment for imported hot-rolled coil (HRC) narrowed upward to $740-780 per short ton cfr port of Houston on Thursday October 17 from $720-780 per ton on October 3, with that for imported cold-rolled coil (CRC) into Houston narrowing upward to $880-940 per ton from $870-940 per ton in the same comparison.Deals for import HRC at $36 per hundredweight ($720 per ton) were not heard this week, with distributors, traders and domestic mill sources noting that the cheapest import HRC offers were at $37 per cwt. Buyers pegged typical import HRC prices at $37-38 per cwt.For CRC, one US trader put the cheapest...