Very little billet is currently available in the US market, attributed to ample demand from US long product mills. While some billet suppliers have informed SteelOrbis that they are unsure of where exactly all those long products are going (demand for wire rod and rebar in the US is not exactly spectacular at the moment, and mills are not believed to be stockpiling billet), billet availability is not expected to increase in the next month or so--according to sources, the massive influx of imported rebar coming into the US market right now could slow US billet consumption down by April.
While tight billet supply would normally drive up prices, the influence of downtrending scrap prices has left US billet prices relatively level in the last month, with most prices still averaging between $630-$650/mt ($572-$590/nt) ex-mill. The lack of availability in the US has also had virtually no impact on import offer prices, which are still too high to garner any interest in the US--Mexican offer prices, for example, are still in the range of $660/mt ($599/nt) delivered into the US. However, there is still significant US-produced billet being exported, as well as substantial tonnage going to LME delivery locations.