A tentative bottom to ferrous scrap prices in the United States and a steadying in hot-rolled coil, combined with mill product hikes, led to a widening in the spread between the two products this month.
Fastmarkets' steel scrap No1 busheling index, delivered Midwest mill, settled at $275.27 per gross ton on Wednesday July 10, the fourth consecutive monthly decline and off from $281.73 in June.On the same date Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index was calculated at $27.35 per hundredweight, equivalent to $612.64 per gross ton.The HRC-busheling spread increased by 2.8% to $337.37 per gross ton on July 10 from a revised June spread of $328.22 per ton."With busheling I think there's certainly some optimism, with some people who I speak to - from the supply chain particularly - following some improvement in some order books after these [mill] price increases" Cowen analyst Tyler Kenyon said.Mill hikes galoreDomestic mills began implementing price increases on June 25 with Nucor, USS-Posco Industries and NLMK USA raising HRC, cold-rolled coil and galvanized steel sheet by a minimum of $40 per short ton ($2 per hundredweight).A second round of mill hikes was announced on July 11, with the...