US domestic rebar spot prices were already vulnerable after US shredded scrap prices dropped about $30-$35/mt this month, and after two major trade news announcements late last week, sources say rebar prices are “softer than they’ve been in a while.”
Section 232 tariffs were removed from steel imports from Canada and Mexico last Friday, and just hours earlier, the 50 percent tariffs on Turkish steel imports were reduced back down to 25 percent. While sources don’t expect an immediate influx of low-priced rebar from Mexico and Turkey, the availability of such material and the relief from uncertainty in those markets is “good news for [rebar] buyers, bad news for [US rebar] mills,” one source said.
As such, US domestic rebar spot prices have dropped by another $0.50 cwt. ($10/nt or $11/mt) since last week, bringing prices into the range of $34.00-$35.00 cwt ($680-$700/nt or $750-$772/mt) ex-mill in the Midwest, and $35.50-$36.50 cwt. ($710-$730/nt or $783-$805/mt) ex-mill on the East Coast.