Another week of sharp offer price increases in the US import rebar market has added fuel to the rumor that prices are inflating into a bubble, based less on actual demand and more on Turkish mills insistence on regaining the margins lost during the first quarter of this year, when CFR level prices hit a low of $335/mt. However, while demand is indeed strong in the US, and domestic prices are rising as well, traders tell SteelOrbis that they are wary of rapidly-rising prices outpacing customer interest.
Still, traders have increased their sales prices for Turkish rebar in the US, into the range of $22.50-$23.50 ($450-$470/nt or $496-$518/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, reflecting a jump of $1.50 cwt. ($30/nt or $33/mt) since last week. Sources tell SteelOrbis that those offers will soon hit a “wall”, even if domestic prices continue to rise. “Turkish mills are dangerously close to pricing themselves out of the market,” one trader said, adding that some of his customers are choosing to wait the market out until that happens.