Today’s snapshot — 2026-09-02
Top mover: HRC export FOB Black Sea -3.13% to $500-520 (Fastmarkets, 1 Sep print) — CIS export offers cut sharply while Turkish import HRC held flat, the one clear break in an otherwise firming tape.
Notable prices:
- HRC export FOB Black Sea = $510.00 (-16.50, -3.13%)
- Shredded scrap CFR Turkey = $395.50 (+3.00, +0.76%)
- HMS 1&2 80:20 CFR Turkey = $375.50 (+3.00, +0.81%)
- Iron ore 61% Fe CFR Qingdao = $99.47 (+0.45, +0.46%)
Headline driver: The desk read is freight-and-route led — crude near $96, Gulf transit traffic down to roughly four vessels a day, container shortages and a carrier surcharge rise pushing supplier offers up ahead of any confirmed buying. The physical tape only partly agrees: Turkish deep-sea legs added $3, but one publisher assessed the same range flat at 0%, and prompt HMS still prints near $375 against a forward curve near $392 — the brief’s firm-curve read is a forward signal, not a prompt print.
Action signal (if any): Wait — requote freight in writing before moving any material-price ceiling, keep offer validity short, and don’t let higher freight be repriced as higher scrap value.