With market activity just starting to return to normal levels after the year-end holidays, buyers within are reportedly wondering how vulnerable US domestic rebar prices are at the moment, and if there is any potential leverage they can use to tug spot prices downward. Sources are pointing to the US domestic scrap market, which has settled down around $30 per ton for Midwest shredded this month, as the main indicator for US rebar prices. Some buyers have already been pitching lower numbers to mills, and at least one source thinks it’s a strong possibility that US rebar mills could even announce an official price decrease in the near-term.
The current impact of imports on the US domestic rebar market is uncertain, as import data is unavailable during the US government shutdown. Meanwhile, while there have been rumors of outlier offers from Europe at much lower levels than December offers, sources have not deemed those offers as credible.
Whether or not US rebar mills end up announcing a price decrease, sources already report that the high end of last week’s spot price range is on the brink of erosion. Few, if any, deals are taking place at the $38.50 cwt. ($770/nt or $849/mt) ex-mill level, while the low end of the range, $35.00 cwt. ($700/nt or $772/mt) ex-mill, remains stable for now.