Eagerness for orders has resulted in renewed flexibility with Turkish rebar mills, according to US traders, with both CFR and sales offer prices shifting slightly downward. New offers in the US of $16.75-$17.75 cwt. ($335-$355/nt or $369-$391/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, reflecting a $0.25 cwt. ($5/nt or $5.50/mt) drop in the last week. Sources tell SteelOrbis that such flexibility might last a while, as there is already downward pressure from speculation about lower scrap prices coming to the market soon.
As for the US domestic market, rumors of a price increase have stalled for the same reason—without higher scrap prices, there is little reason US customers would accept any kind of increase in the current market. As such, the general spot range is unchanged this week at $26.50 cwt. ($510/nt or $562/mt) ex-mill on the low end and $29.00 cwt. ($580/nt or $639/mt) on the high end, with mills still reportedly open to deals depending on order size.