After weeks of consistent declines, import offers of Turkish rebar to the US have finally stayed level this week, although it is not entirely clear if that means prices have hit bottom. Traders tell SteelOrbis that at least one Turkish mill has tossed out a slightly higher offer price than last week in an attempt to “stop the bleeding,” but that price point was not widely accepted by US-based traders. Other mills are still reportedly eager for orders and are still offering last week’s prices, which has kept traders’ offer range in the US stable this week at $26.50-$27.50 cwt. ($530-$550/nt or $584-$606/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports.
The US domestic rebar market is also facing slight push-back to recent attempts at price modification. Nucor’s Midwest-only $1.00 cwt. ($20/nt or $22/mt) price increase for December has been absorbed by some small-to-medium sized buyers, but enough larger distributors stocked up before the effective date to keep the overall market price stable at $34.00-$35.00 cwt. ($680-$700/nt or $750-$772/mt) ex-mill. With upcoming holiday vacations quieting the market for the rest of the month, the fate of the increase remains to be seen. But as in past years, a flood of imports is expected in January and February, and if port deals are attractive enough to negate the transportation costs into the Midwest, the regional increase could very well lose its early, if tepid support.