US domestic rebar pricing remained flat this week amid reports of plentiful supply, while wire rod pricing rose as output from Liberty Steel’s wire and rod plant in Illinois is likely to remain limited through much of the second quarter, market insiders told SteelOrbis this week.
Insiders say that mills remain reluctant to raise rebar pricing as supply on warehouse floors and at export docks remains plentiful. Any further rebar price increases from mills at this point, they say, could encourage increased imports of long steel products, cutting into market share.
Traders also said expected increased construction costs following the April 3 start of new reciprocal trade tariffs could reduce US economic activity during the approaching key spring construction season.
On April 2, US President Trump announced in a Rose Garden ceremony a plan to levy a minimum 10 percent “baseline” reciprocal tariffs on an extensive list of worldwide trading partners. Insiders told SteelOrbis that the tariffs, which exclude steel, came as somewhat of a relief to the steel market. Higher tariff-inspired pricing on other non-steel products used by the US construction industry could limit economic activity, they said.
In the weekly rebar spot markets, domestic supply on an FOB mill basis is assessed with most transactions noted at $39.00-40.50/cwt., ($780-810/nt or $860-893/mt), on average $39.75/cwt., ($795/nt or $876/mt), unchanged from seven days ago.
On the mill side, any significant output from the Liberty Steel wire and rod plant is expected to be delayed until May or June, insiders told SteelOrbis. In the domestic wire rod market, most transactions were reported this week at $45.50-46.50/cwt ($910-930/nt or $1,003-1,025/mt), or an average of $46.00/cwt ($920/nt or $1,014/mt), up $2.50/cwt ($50/nt or $55/mt) from seven days ago.