US import rebar and wire rod pricing was reported steady to slightly higher versus week-ago levels, though insiders cautioned that pricing could be poised to rise soon, even as another week of war in the Middle East begins to weigh on suppliers and shippers, resulting in fewer players in the market and higher resulting price offers.
Insiders said increased war-related risk and rising fuel costs for shipping assets operating in and around the Strait of Hormuz is reducing the number of players willing to move export shipments without significant premiums.
And while higher import rebar pricing has yet to manifest as US long steel producers continue to ramp up productive output from several large new mills, importers said import wire rod pricing continues to inch higher following last week’s $1.50/cwt ($30/nt) increase. Production from several key mills, among them Liberty steel and Anton Steel remains reduced or eliminated, allowing more room for imports to fill a growing gap, they said.
On the US Gulf Coast, import rebar on a loaded truck basis was reported flat for a third 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 remains stable to week-ago levels at $45.00-46/cwt., ($900-920/nt or $992-1,014/mt).
With fewer suppliers reported on offer, import pricing for wire rod mesh on a DDP loaded truck basis Houston, Texas, is reported $0.50/cwt., higher at $46.50-47.50/cwt., ($930-950/nt or $1,025-1,047/mt), up from $46.00-47.00/nt ($920-940/nt or $1,025-1,047/mt) one week earlier.
And, while fuel cost remains only one component in total shipping fees, the price of benchmark Brent crude oil has increased about 40 percent since the conflict started on Feb. 28. And, 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 nearly doubled to $1,017 per ton, up from $544/t the day before hostilities began in Iran.