Prices for imported flat-rolled steel are mixed as the international market appears to show signs of leveling off - or at least is not shooting up as dramatically as domestic flat-rolled steel prices, market participants said.
Hot-rolled coil
Fastmarkets' assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, import, ddp Houston, stands at $540-600 per ton, unchanged from the prior assessment two weeks ago on September 16.
The price range represents both offers and transactions for South Korean hot-rolled coil slated to be produced in November and December and to arrive at Gulf Coast ports in January and February, market participants said.
It also represents pricing from Canadian mills, whose material is typically available on lead times similar to those of domestic mills.
Some more recent offers are for more than $600 per ton, in line with higher US prices. But it is not clear whether those offers will be accepted by a US consumer base still...