Market Alert

02/22/21 Market Alert – Industrial Commodities

Industrial commodities are currently at record highs.  This price run continues for steel and copper.

The price of hot rolled coil (“HRC”), used to make steel welded pipe is at an all-time high!  The current mill disclosed “HRC” price of 1168/nt is 9.1% higher than the previous record of 1070/nt set in 2008.  What’s more, mills are disclosing replacement costs today for “HRC” at 1250/nt, 16.8% above the 2008 record.

With the exception of an 8-month run in early 2011, copper too is at an all-time high!   Copper price has doubled in the past year, currently residing at 69% above the 20-year average (39% above the 10-year average).  Domestic inventories have also recently suffered unusual outages on standard copper water tube.

COMEX Copper Price:

Hot Rolled Coil Pricing Timeline: