Nucor has cut prices for hot rolled coils to $880/t for the third time since May

The American steel company Nucor has announced another reduction in the weekly spot price (CSP) for hot rolled coil (HRC). Offers for the week of May 19-25, 2025 fell by 2.2% or $20/t compared to the previous week to $880 per short tonne for all production facilities, except California Steel Industries (CSI), where the price is $940/t (-2.1%).

This is the third consecutive decline in spot prices for Nucor hot rolled coil since the beginning of May and the fourth since the beginning of the year. Over the month, the total drop in supply is estimated at $50/t.

Thus, the highest price since the beginning of the year was reached on March 24 at $935/t ($995/t for CSI) and lasted until April 13. Despite the stagnation in May, Nucor’s HRC offers remain $130/mt higher than in early January.

The lead time for orders is estimated at 3-5 weeks.

Market participants note that one of the factors is the reduction in the cost of scrap in the US, as well as preliminary restocking and instability in sales markets caused by uncertainty over federal tariff policy and high interest rates.

According to SMU, as of May 13, 2025, HRC prices in the US hovered around $845/mt FOB, down $30/mt from a week earlier. The average delivery time in the overall market is 4.6 weeks.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Cleveland-Cliffs last published its monthly hot-rolled steel price on April 11. The May order book was opened at $975/ton. At the end of February, the company opened the April order book for HRC at $900/t. Thus, the supply increased by $75/t in May.