Published by:Melissa VanDervort<>
15 May 2025 @ 20:37 UTC

Hot-rolled coil prices in the US Midwest edged lower on Thursday May 15, with sources reporting ongoing light spot trading and weakening demand in the hot-rolled market. Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US Midwest was calculated at $44.81 per hundredweight ($896.20 per short ton) on Thursday, down by 0.38% from $44.98 per cwt on Wednesday May 14 and by 2.52% from $45.97 per cwt a week earlier on May 8.
Inputs were collected in the buyer sub-index in the range of $42-45 per cwt, representing offers and assessments of the general spot market.
Inputs were rolled over in the seller sub-index due to a lack of liquidity and to minimize day-to-day volatility.
Heard in the market Market participants depicted a relatively quiet spot market, with buyers continuing to take a cautious approach amid lingering economic uncertainty over tariffs and trade policies.
Sources anticipate that hot-rolled spot prices will continue to trickle down in the near term, with demand expected to diminish further heading into the slower summer months ahead.
Lead times are at three to four weeks, sources said.
Quote of the day [Order] inquiries seem to be steady, but [there is] lots of window shopping [in the spot market]. Demand continues to dwindle, a Midwest distributor source said.