US hot-rolled coil prices set another record in the second week of February 2021, reaching $1,180 per short ton in Steel Market Update's check of the market on 9 February. It was the fifth new high since the market passed the 2008 record in the second week of January. Prices had risen by $30 in a week after two weeks of $10 increases, as mills kept raising offers and buyers chased scarce spot tonnes. Fastmarkets' daily index told the same story, reaching $59.23 per hundredweight ($1,184.60 per short ton) on 5 February, roughly double its level a year earlier, and passing $61 per hundredweight by 23 February. Demand from the automotive, construction and appliance sectors continued to outpace domestic production, and lead times stretched for months. Several mills had maintenance outages planned for June, which buyers feared would tighten supply further. With prices more than doubling in five months, service centres warned that end users were starting to delay orders, but no correction had yet appeared.
Source: Steel Market Update — https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/2021/02/09/smu-price-ranges-indices-hot-rolled-hits-1-180-per-ton/
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