Although rebar buyers in the US have been hesitant recently about ordering imports, source tell SteelOrbis that interest is improving based on the sharp uptrend of US domestic rebar prices. US spot prices have fully absorbed the $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) price increase announced this month, widening the margin between import and domestic offers. And while the price spread was not the main factor in keeping import interest low, it is reportedly starting to inspire some buyer to take the risk of ordering offshore material that won’t arrive until November.
However, some sources are still skeptical that lower import prices are worth it. Some do not expect the current domestic rebar uptrend to last through the remainder of the year, while others predict the price spread between imports and domestics will remain relatively stable in Q4, and if demand holds up, “there’s no reason not to book imports,” one source said.
After rising last week, import rebar offers to the US are stable this week. US import rebar offers from Turkey are still at $28.00-$29.00 cwt. ($617-$639/mt or $560-$580/nt) DDP loaded truck at US Gulf ports, while offers from Mexico are still at $27.50-$28.50 cwt. ($606-$628/mt or $550-$570/nt) DDP Houston.