The spot price of the US HRC futures contract saw the biggest upwards shift for the day, rising 0.8 percent to close at $645.00 per short ton on Jan. 4, 2013. The US HRC futures contract 3-month price saw little movement last Friday, closing out around $655.00 per short ton.

Chinese steel prices closed flat for the day. The price of iron ore 58% fines from India hit a high price of CNY 840.00 ($134.76) and a low price of CNY 830.00 ($133.15) per dry metric ton. For the fifth consecutive day, the price of Chinese HRC held flat at CNY 4,000 ($641.70) per metric ton. For the fifth day in a row, the price of Chinese coking coal remained essentially flat at CNY 1,650 ($264.70) per metric ton.

Also on the LME, the cash price of steel billet saw little movement last Friday at $280.00 per metric ton. On the LME, the 3-month price of steel billet remained essentially flat at $290.00 per metric ton.