US domestic rebar pricing was up slightly this week as domestic mills were reported to be pulling earlier low-priced offers for remaining December spot material ahead of the Christmas and New Years holidays, while wire rod pricing was largely flat amid scant new demand for product this week, market insiders told SteelOrbis.
Insiders reported that domestic mills reduced the number of low-price offers, as some expect improved January pricing. Doing so, insiders said, caused prices on new deals to creep higher as the week advanced. SteelOrbis data shows rebar pricing rose about $20/ton ($22/mt), even as activity continued limited.
“Rebar (markets) have been slow because there has not been (much) new demand,” said a market insider. Another East Coast rebar trader added, “I expect (domestic) long steel pricing to remain little changed through the end of the year, even as mills continue to try to push prices higher where they can.”
In the weekly rebar spot markets, domestic supply on an FOB mill basis is assessed with most transactions noted at $36.00-37.00/cwt. ($720-740/nt or $794-816/mt), on average $36.50/cwt. ($730/nt or $805/mt), up $1.00/cwt., or $20/nt ($22/mt) from seven days earlier.
Insiders said owing to continued low finished steel demand, recent lower-priced Chicago shredded scrap for December delivery had little effect on rebar pricing. December shredded scrap vicinity Chicago settled $10/gt less versus November on a delivered to customer basis at $375-381/gt ($381-386/mt). January scrap is last discussed sideways to soft-sideways to December values on a continuation of limited finished steel demand, insiders said.
In the wire rod markets, pricing was flat on reported low demand, even as uncertainty remains high about the much-anticipated March 2025 return of Liberty Steel’s wire and rod production plant in Peoria, Illinois.
In the domestic wire rod market, most transactions were reported at $39.50-40.50/cwt. ($790-810/nt or $871-893/mt), or an average of $40.00/cwt. ($800/nt or $882/mt), unchanged from seven days ago.
Wire rod insiders fear continuing financial troubles with Liberty Steel’s UK-based parent company GFG Alliance could keep the mill shuttered unless domestic pricing improves substantially in Q1. Some contend increased tariffs with the incoming US president could be supportive of that outcome.
“As we get closer to the end of the year, the market will most likely be stagnant due to the impending inventory tax and the holiday season,” another long steel insider told SteelOrbis. In some states, rebar inventory on the ground as of Jan.1 is taxed at a rate of 3-5 percent, so many suppliers are more motivated to clear inventory or buy just what they absolutely need, they said.