US and Western European HRB Prices Reach New Highs

Steel

Hot rolled band (HRB) steel prices in the US and Western Europe have risen further to new record highs, while the Chinese price slipped lower, according to the latest SteelBenchmarker from World Steel Dynamics.

At $1,824/t, the US HRB price rose $144/t in the two weeks to 16 June and is now more than three times the year-ago level. Meanwhile, the Western European price rose $44/t over the same period to $1,388/t. However, the Chinese domestic price dipped $15/t to $738/t, the lowest level since mid-April.