US domestic rebar and wire rod prices were flat again this week, amid reports of steady though limited market demand and domestic scrap prices remain poised to increase for a third straight month, market insiders told SteelOrbis.
Insiders told SteelOrbis that if the market finishes still higher for scrap during February supply negotiations, another round of price increase announcements from US mills for long steel and other finished steel products are likely. At last report, February scrap is seen on average $30/gt higher, with the US Midwest shredded scrap benchmark for rebar production likely to settle at $445-450/gt ($438-443/mt).
In the weekly rebar spot markets, domestic supply on an FOB mill basis was assessed with most transactions noted at $48.00-49.00/cwt, ($960-980/nt or $1,058-1,080/mt), on average $48.50/cwt, ($970/nt or $1,069/mt), unchanged from a week earlier.
“Scrap [inflows] are limited because of weather conditions. That, I think, is going to set prices a bit up,” said a SteelOrbis long steel insider. Last week’s winter storm, he said, caused the US serious delays in deliveries, transportation, and domestic steel mill production. Most of the country is still dealing with icy roads, frozen ground, and unusable equipment this week.
“Due to this winter storm, business tends to stop for rebar shipments,” said another long steel insider.
Recent domestic mill price increases, contacts say, might re-emerge in February, especially if scrap pricing continues to increase mills' steel production costs.
On January 6, 2026, the Nucor Bar Group announced a price increase on most merchant and structural products by $2.50/cwt ($50/nt or $55/mt). There have been no new recent Nucor announcements as of this week.
On the domestic long steel demand side, weekly discussions have continued regarding the US construction industry and its current key demand drivers, infrastructure and data center construction. Commercial and residential construction was described as “mixed” by another long steel insider. He added that his contacts in the the construction industry remain hopeful that new project activity will increase sharply as the extreme cold weather subsides later in the first quarter.
In the domestic wire rod market, domestic supply on an FOB mill basis was assessed with most transactions reported this week at $48.00-49.00/cwt ($960-980/nt or $1,058-1,080/mt), or an average of $48.50/cwt ($970/nt or $1,069/mt), unchanged from a week ago.
Reports on a steady but slow wire rod market continued this week, but no updates on production levels were made available from officials at Peoria, Illinois-based Liberty Steel’s wire and rod plant. Insiders told SteelOrbis recently that the unit was not producing at its full 700,000 ton/year capacity, though attempts to verify unit reports with the plant remained unsuccessful at press time.