In a letter to customers late Friday, Gerdau Long Steel North America announced that it is rescinding the $30/nt ($1.50 cwt. or $33/mt) transaction price increase for rebar that was announced on January 14, replacing it with a $20/nt ($1.00 cwt. or $22/mt) increase, effective with new orders placed as of January 20.
Although the letter attributes the backtracking to “competitive market conditions”, the move is undoubtedly a direct response to Nucor undercutting the original increase with its own $20/nt increase last week.