US import long steel prices remained flat yet again for still another week, even as a new interim memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Iran and the US was signed this week, calling to a 60-day pause in hostilities and the immediate re-opening of the contested Strait of Hormuz on June 19. A finalized peace agreement setting more specific terms was expected to be hammered out during the 60-day period, media reports indicate.
News of the deal, which calls for an end to Iran’s nuclear program among other things in the 14-point proposal, caused global oil prices to slump to their lowest levels since the hostilities began in late February, easing somewhat, concerns among steel shippers and importers, that elevated freight rates and fuel costs would continue to drop.
At week’s end, however, technical meetings between the US and Iran in Switzerland, scheduled to be lead by US Vice president JD Vance, were canceled late on June 18 after Israel once again struck Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. Both the US and Iran consider the inclusion of a Lebanon truce to be a critical element of the peace plan. Midday June 19, media reports indicated Hezbollah and Israel had agreed to a renewed joint ceasefire, though later reports began to circulate that Iran now expects shippers in the Strait of Hormuz to register with Iran, and that potential tolls to transit the strait might be charged following the 60-day period.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI) on June 19 stood at about $76 per barrel, down from the March, WTI spike to $118/bbl, the result of heightened supply concerns as more that 20 percent of global oil supply flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
“If the peace plan calling for the Iran war to be over happens this time, then recent increased steel prices might return to more normal levels and freight rates should drop,” said one US Midwest long steel insider. “At this point, however, it’s too early to tell. The way things have been going lately with this war has lead to a lot of uncertainty, which still continues.”
At the US Gulf Coast, import rebar on a loaded truck basis remains stable at $46.00-47.00/cwt., ($920-940/nt or $1,014-1,036/mt), up from $45.50-46.50/cwt., ($910-930/nt or $1,003-1,025/mt) several weeks earlier. Spot pricing for US East Coast import rebar is quoted steady at $46.50-$47.50/cwt., ($930-950/nt or $1,025-1,047/mt).
As long steel imports remain constrained by ongoing 50 percent Section 232 steel tariffs, market insiders report wire rod supplies are expected to remain limited with a potential for further price increases likely, they said. Wire rod mesh import DDP offers for September delivery at US Gulf Coast ports are heard at $49.00-$50.00/cwt., ($980-$1000/nt or $1,080-1,102/mt), up from current spot deliveries there that were assessed flat this week at $47.50-.50.00/cwt., ($980-1,000/nt or $1,080-1,102/mt).
Despite continued Iran war-related uncertainty and ongoing supply-side woes, market insiders told SteelOrbis increased long steel imports from South Korea could help stabilize import pricing as markets head into the third quarter. Lower oil and freight prices also will help, they said.
“Supplies remain tight, though not so much as we saw about six months ago, when new antidumping cases by the US Trade Representative (USTR) were settled against Egypt, Algeria, Bulgaria, and more recently against Vietnam, causing imports into the US to tank,” the US Midwest long steel importer added.
