Although US traders have been boosting inquiries to offshore rebar sources that are not under the specter of a looming trade case, their customers are reportedly not as interested in alternate offers as they hoped. Import rebar offers from Portugal are hovering around $31.00 cwt. ($683/mt or $620/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, while Korean offers are still in the range of $32.00-$33.00 cwt. ($705-$727/mt or $640-$660/nt) DDP loaded truck in West Coast ports. Some Japanese rebar has arrived into the US in the last couple weeks, including some position buys according to sources, but future offers are not being pursued at the moment.
Meanwhile, offers from Mexico have been inching up in the last week to certain destinations--traders are becoming protective of their margins on Mexican rebar and are no longer being flexible with orders that require extra transportation costs. For the most part, Mexican offers are still in the range of $29.50-$30.50 cwt. ($650-$672/mt or $590-$610/nt) DDP loaded truck delivered to US border states, but traders say their firmness with certain orders could extend to most orders soon. Turkish rebar offers are also stable in the range of $29.50-$30.50 cwt. DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, with interest as low as it was last week.
Finally, US domestic spot prices are holding at $31.50-$32.50 cwt. ($705-$717/mt or $630-$650/nt) ex-mill, and even though mills have not released any official pricing indicators, sources say they are actively trying to firm most orders into the higher end of the range.