Before US rebar producers filed an AD/CVD petition against Turkey, Japan and Taiwan last week, offer prices for Turkish rebar at least were experiencing a moderate downtrend. And while offers were taken “off the table” in the immediate aftermath of the filing, traders tell SteelOrbis that Turkish mills are back to offering, although for “inexplicably” higher prices in the last week.
However, buyers in the US are largely shying away from future orders, preferring—at least of now—to snap up ample ground stock at the ports. Preliminary import data was released this week, showing 106,182 mt in imports from Turkey in August, which is about half the July total (200,708 mt) but on par with September import permits as of today (104,032 mt). Meanwhile, imports from Japan and Taiwan reached a combined total of just over 83,000 mt in August, with a combined import license total of about half that so far this month (43,322 mt).
Sources say future offers from Japan and Taiwan are drying up, while offers from Turkey are resisting—for now—the attempt at an uptrend. In some case, sales prices for Turkish rebar have been reported as low as $18.50 cwt. ($370/nt or $408/mt), but for the most part the offer range for Turkish rebar is still in the range of $19.00-$20.00 cwt. ($380-$400/nt or $419-$441/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports for the few buyers who are interested.