The price spread between steel hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil in the US market continued to widen on Friday as domestic CRC supply remained tight, market sources said.
However, buyers noted increased interest in import offers on the back of higher domestic CRC prices and extended lead times.
Platts increased its daily CRC price assessment to $560-$580/st from $550-$570/st. HRC prices were flat at $395-$420/st. Both prices are normalized to a Midwest (Indiana) ex-works basis.
Based on current assessed price midpoints, the spread between the two products is $162.50/st, well above the typical gap of $100-$120/st.
The divergence of the two products looks to continue in the near term, according to sources, as the HRC market remains stagnant but domestic supply tightness and healthier end-use demand remain in force for CRC and hot-dip galvanized sheet.
Lead times for CRC and HDG are out into April and pushing into May from most US mills, narrowing the timing gap with import deliveries that are currently out to May/June.
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