Import long steel prices were reported stable this week, following a steady to higher assessment one week prior, amid reports of slightly improved supply, even as energy pricing and freight rates are retreating from recent highs, as the ongoing war continues in the Middle East, market insiders told SteelOrbis.
On the US Gulf Coast, import rebar on a loaded truck basis remains flat for a fourth week following an earlier $0.50/cwt., price rise to $44.50-45.50/cwt., ($890-910/nt or $981-1,003/mt). US East Coast import rebar pricing also was assessed stable to week-ago levels at $45.00-46/cwt., ($900-920/nt or $992-1,014/mt).
Following this past week’s reports of fewer suppliers on offer as a result of rising fuel surcharges, import pricing for wire rod mesh on a DDP loaded truck basis Houston, Texas, was reported flat this week at $46.50-47.50/cwt., ($930-950/nt or $1,025-1,047/mt), though up from $46.00-47.00/nt ($920-940/nt or $1,025-1,047/mt) reported following SteelOrbis surveys two weeks earlier.
“On the import side, some Korean rebar shipments during February and March have filled recent holes which had caused US Gulf Coast and East Coast mills to be short supply,” the US Gulf Coast long steel importer told SteelOrbis. “Prices could drop, but it’s probably a temporary drop we’re looking at.”
Media reports indicate this week that Iran allowed a “gift transit” of 10 oil tankers to flow through the contested Strait of Hormuz, though shippers were limited to those not linked to the US or Israel. While hostilities continue and the US considers the use of elite ground troops after a recent 10-day extension by US President Trump, Iran continues its “selective transit model,” allowing only non-hostile vessels to transit the Strait.
And, while fuel costs remain only one component in total shipping fees, the price of benchmark Brent crude oil remains about 40-50 percent higher than when the Iran conflict started on Feb. 28. More importantly, according to shipping industry monitor Ship and Bunker, the average price of very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) used by many ships across the world’s 20 largest refueling ports, has declined to about $943.50/mt (Mar 26), off from a high of about $1,068/mt (Mar. 20), though still considerably higher than $544/mt reported a day before hostilities began with Iran.
“It remains hard to predict what the world will do in reaction to the ongoing conflict in the Mideast,” said one US Gulf Coast long steel importer, when asked about his outlook for future import long steel pricing.
