Today’s snapshot — 2026-09-23
Top mover: HRC import cfr Saudi Arabia jumped to $620–635/tonne (+$27.50, +4.58%) as Gulf suppliers tightened vessel-detention terms and Chinese-origin cargo pushed past $610/t cfr UAE on limited allocation.
Notable prices:
- HMS 1&2 80:20 US-origin CFR Turkey = $398.26 (0.00, 0.00%)
- Zinc = $3911.55 (-19.50, -0.50%)
- HRC fob mill US Midwest = $62.31 (0.68, 1.10%)
- No1 Busheling delivered mill Bajio = $407.00 (-18.00, -4.24%)
Headline driver: Freight risk stayed the dominant theme — Hormuz commodity-vessel traffic slipped to three vessels against a ten-day average near fifteen even as Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline stayed online — while Turkish mills pushed back on repeat US-origin scrap levels amid weak domestic steel sales, keeping the Turkey scrap tape flat.
Action signal: Hold — reconfirm freight and insurance before fixing any CFR; no executable signal to chase with Turkish scrap subdued and Pakistan’s anchor unchanged.