Today’s snapshot — 2026-08-19
Top mover: GCC HRC CFR +$20.00 (+3.55%) to $582.50/t — the sharpest print on the tape, with Gulf flat products bid up as Hormuz disruption feeds into delivered cost.
Notable prices:
- GCC HRC CFR = $582.50/t (+$20.00, +3.55%)
- Iron ore KORE 61% Fe CFR Qingdao = $96.31/t (-$1.87, -1.90%)
- Black Sea billet export FOB = $459.00/t (-$8.50, -1.82%)
- Pakistan shredded index CFR Port Qasim = $417.33/t (+$4.44, +1.08%)
Headline driver: The desk brief again leads on freight: Hormuz transits fell to six on Tuesday from nine on Monday, below the ten-day average of eleven, owners still avoiding the route, and Brent around $91.44/bbl on a fourth straight rising session. Its ferrous read — Turkey stable, futures not yet physical — is confirmed: US-origin HMS 80:20 CFR Turkey $378.98 and Turkish shredded $391.48 both printed 0.00%, and the Turkish HMS range held flat across all three price PDFs. Yesterday’s iron ore spike reversed.
Action signal: Keep Europe-to-Pakistan CFR offers subject to freight reconfirmation and hold validity at 24 hours on Hormuz-exposed routes. Do not lift prompt HMS to the firmer forward reference — physical has not moved.