Despite the successful push for price increases in other segments of the US steel market, domestic rebar prices are not likely to rise as well, sources say. Demand is still hovering between “muted” and “weak” and likely to suffer further from winter weather affecting end-use activities. Sources tell SteelOrbis that if US rebar mills try to raise prices, even on a quiet basis, order activity will likely decline. Combined with still-soft US import rebar offers, the outlook for US domestic rebar prices is pointing sideways to down for the remainder of the year.
Individual deals are still available, sources say, especially for high-volume orders. But overall, US domestic rebar spot prices are unchanged in the last week, at $30.50-$31.50 cwt. ($610-$630/nt or $672-$694/mt) ex-Midwest mill and $31.50-$32.00 cwt. ($630-$640/nt or $694-$705/mt) ex-East coast mill.