Aside from a few outlier deals that don’t represent the rest of the market, US import rebar prices have maintained at the level of $22.50-$23.50 cwt. ($450-$470/nt or $505-$526/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports this week. However, traders are reluctant to say that offers have reached a bottom. With scrap prices declining in Turkey, some traders say that there is “quite a ways to go”—others insist they might be able to negotiate downward “another dollar or two” but that’s it because Turkish mills have to be hyper-aware of their prices in order to stay on the US DOC’s “good side”.
US domestic rebar mills would no doubt be happy with import prices reaching a bottom sooner rather than later, as sources tell SteelOrbis that mills are still eyeing a potential price increase. Until anything happens, however, spot prices will likely remain in the range of $31.50-$32.50 cwt. ($630-$650/nt or $694-$717/mt) ex-mill.