Bolstered by a strong uptrend in
US domestic
rebar prices, import
rebar offers from Turkey are remaining firm, with traders reporting “little room for flexibility” from offshore mills. However, traders’ offers to their
US customers are rising more modestly. Imported
rebar in the
US domestic market from Turkey is now in the range of $24.50-$25.50 cwt. ($490-$510/nt or $540-$562/mt) DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf ports, reflecting an increase of $0.50 cwt. ($10/nt or $11/mt) in the last week.
Attendees of SteelOrbis’ annual
Rebar & Wire Rod Conference in Las Vegas on Jan. 16 offered various opinions about how long the domestic and import
rebar uptrend will last, with many keeping their eye on scrap prices as the most vital indicator. However, others expressed skepticism about preliminary margins in the trade case against
rebar from Turkey, Taiwan and Japan, which are due from the
US DOC next month—
US domestic
rebar producers might be expecting strong margins, but others in the market are expecting negligible preliminary margins. And although those margins are only preliminary, not final, it would still have an immediate effect on sentiment in the market.
“If margins are slim, import prices will stay nice and firm” said one RWR attendee. “
US prices, on the other hand—not so much.”