With predictions for another potential drop in US domestic scrap prices next month, buyers of US domestic rebar remain “in the driver’s seat,” sources say, with the ability to negotiate prices below the current spot range.
Overall, the range has remained stable in the last week at $33.00-$34.00 cwt. ($660-$680/nt or $728-$750/mt) ex-mill in the Midwest and $33.50-$34.50 cwt. ($670-$690/nt or $739-$761/mt) ex-mill on the East Coast. However, sources report accepted offers below the low end of those ranges, adding that transactions at the high end of the range are “eroding fast.”
While some sources have started to speculate that US domestic rebar mills might announce a price increase to prevent spot prices from downtrending further—as US domestic flat steel mills did this week—other sources insist that rebar prices will continue to dwindle until the market finds its “natural bottom.”