Import rebar offering prices for the US have come down by $0.25 cwt. ($5.50 /mt or $5 /nt) in the past week, with prices now ranging from $29.75 cwt. to $30.75 cwt. ($656 /mt to $678 /mt or $595 /nt to $615 /nt) FOB loaded truck, in US Gulf ports.
Even though there are higher priced inventories on their way to the US for July/August deliveries, the best new offers for September/October deliveries are being quoted at less than $30.00 cwt. ($600 /nt or $661 /mt). Most of these offers are coming from Turkey, though some are from Japan. The Turkish rebar market is very soft and quiet since the country has an upcoming national election this month and because of the usual summer holidays. Because of the pending election, very little money is being spent on any new construction projects. The Turkish rebar mills' main export markets, the Middle East and Europe, have cooled down some, so the Turkish mills are especially hungry for US bookings. Scrap prices in Turkey have come down also, which gives producers some room to discount.
There is not an overabundance of Japanese origin rebar offers, but when Japanese mills do have tonnage for the US, they sell competitively, and this is the case now. Japanese scrap prices are down, resulting in the lower priced rebar offers for the US. Taiwanese numbers are getting more competitive, but are not as competitive as Japanese and Turkish offers yet. The overall pricing trend for import rebar remains slightly down.
According to data from the US Import Administration, in June the countries which exported the most rebar tonnage to the US were; Turkey at 84,836 mt, Taiwan at 59,184 mt, Mexico at 23,508 mt, Malaysia at 20,554 mt, and Hong Kong at 19,920 mt.
As for domestic rebar prices, Nucor will soon announce any price adjustments it will make for August deliveries of its rebar products. Early indications are that prices should remain stable.
Since there have been no major moves in scrap pricing this month, and since Nucor prefers to keep prices as steady as possible from month to month, chances are that we will see no net change in August pricing. However, there is a slight chance that they might cut prices because of increasing import competition and lack of orders. US rebar demand is still fairly soft, though sources say that the rebar market is still considerably stronger than the wire rod market.
For July deliveries, domestic rebar prices continue to range from $31.90 cwt. to $32.40 cwt. ($703 /mt to $714 /mt or $638 /nt to $648 /nt) FOB mill.