With indications that scrap prices in Turkey are on the rise, traders tell SteelOrbis that Turkish rebar mills are trying to hold the line with rebar offers to the US. Attempts to negotiate downward have been mostly rebuffed for now, but sources say that such a firm stance won’t last because actual booking activity is slack. A glut of positions at the port isn’t helping matters either, as US import license data show 173,892 mt of rebar arriving from Turkey in February. The price difference between positions and future orders ranges anywhere from $1.50 cwt. to $3.00 cwt. ($30-$60/nt or $33-$66/mt), but with demand in the US lagging due to brutal winter weather throughout the country, sources say customers aren’t exactly clamoring for product at the moment—import or domestic. As such, future order offers are still in last week’s range of $22.00-$23.00 cwt. ($440-$460/nt or $485-$507/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports.
Prices are also stable in the US domestic rebar market, with spots still hovering in the range of $31.50-$32.50 cwt. ($630-$650/nt or $694-$717/mt) ex-mill. As mentioned, a dip in otherwise strong demand for rebar in the US has removed much of US mills’ leverage, and sources say that until spring thaws end-use projects and the import flood dries up as it eventually does every year, domestic rebar prices will remain vulnerable.