For a third straight week, US import long steel prices were stable to $0.50/cwt., less amid continued thin US demand, lower oil prices and amid reports of reduced import demand, even as the US-Iran conflict was seen spreading further through the Middle East region, market insiders told SteelOrbis.
According to media reports, the US-Iran conflict has escalated significantly with renewed US and Iranian airstrikes, new joint US-Saudi operations in Iraq, and widening regional impacts in Jordan, Kuwait and Egypt.
Even as the allied air war escalates, global oil prices remain down from week-ago levels, the result of significant combined efforts by Gulf Cooperation Council member countries (GCCs) to bypass dedicated supply routes through the contested Strait of Hormuz. On July 30, global benchmark Brent Crude oil traded just below $90 a barrel (/bbl), off about $10/bbl from one week ago. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI) traded at less than $84/bbl, off from about $91/bbl one week earlier.
It was hoped that lower oil prices would ease heightened global shipping rates reported by global shipping concerns, however, rates remain steady to week-ago levels due to continued global oil market jitters, insiders said.
Since the war with Iran began in late February, shipping rates between the US and the Middle East have nearly doubled, insiders say, mostly due to a 55 percent surge in maritime bunker fuel prices and sharply higher war risk insurance premiums. Recent fuel surcharges from major carriers range between $65 and $165 per container following the latest Middle East hostilities, shipping experts say. More importantly, so-called “War Risk Surcharges” of between $1,500 and $3,500 per container have been reported by various ocean carriers such as Hapag-Lloyd, sharply boosting the cost of delivered freight, including steel.
Insiders said ocean freight rates remain elevated despite lower global oil prices. On the US East Coast, the cost of bulk freight rose to $50/mt from Turkey last week from $44-46/mt the week prior. No new reports of reduced freight rates were heard this week at SteelOrbis.
At the US Gulf Coast, loaded truck rebar is offered $0.50/cwt., ($10/nt) less at $44.00-45.00/cwt., ($880-900/nt or $970-992/mt), off from last week's flat price assessment at $44.50-45.50/nt ($890-910/nt or $981-1,003/mt). US East Coast material was also reported $0.50/cwt., less at $45.00-46/cwt., ($900-920/nt or $992-1014/mt), off from $45.50-46.50 ($910-930/nt or $1,003-1,025/mt) one week earlier.
As Mideast hostilities ramp up, it remains inconclusive whether recent reports of “wild card” suppliers from Indonesia and other Asian nations such as Korea and Vietnam will continue to act as potential sources of lower-cost wire and rod, as markets advance through the third quarter and hostilities with Iran continue to disrupt global supply chains. Recent July 14 rebar price increases of $30/nt ($1.50/cwt.) by Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor at its Seattle, WA, Plymouth, UT, and Kingman, AZ bar mills would seem to indicate that recent US West Coast import arbitrage opportunities could become more limited.
On the supply side, unlike other finished steel products like flat rolled steel, rebar imports into the US actually are significantly higher this year than last. As previously reported by SteelOrbis, preliminary census data from the US Department of Commerce shows imports of rebar totaled 125,530 metric tons in May this year, up 21.3 percent month on month and up 70.1 percent year on year. By value, rebar imports totaled $68.61 million in May this year, compared with $54.40 million in April and $39.31 million in May 2025.
In the import wire rod markets, wire rod mesh on a DDP loaded truck basis at the US Gulf was discussed $0.50/cwt., less for a second week at $46.50-48.50/cwt., ($930-970/nt or $1,025-1,069/mt), off from $47.00-49.00/cwt., ($940-980/nt or $1,036-1,080/mt) one week prior.
