US import rebar and wire rod pricing continued lower this week amid low domestic demand and an expectation for lower scrap prices for May, market insiders told SteelOrbis. Insiders added that an increase in the volume of US finished steel imports into US ports is also continuing to pressure prices, as international suppliers attempt to maintain cash flow at a time when global steel demand remains unremarkable.
“There’s a bit of a bloodbath going on for rebar,” said one long steel insider reacting to the reported buildup of rebar supply at Texas ports. “We’re hearing prices of below $36.00/cwt. ($720/nt or $794/mt) being offered for material that’s already on the ground.”
Despite current 25 percent import tariffs, the insider said that exporters from Vietnam and Algeria were being “particularly aggressive.” “Sellers need to maintain cash flows, and since we’ve seen the bottom of the market, price levels are not going to move that much,” he said.
“Nobody’s really in a hurry to get new rebar deals done, considering current demand and the outlook for lower scrap,” the insider added. “The number of people interested in new deals is just not there to maintain existing price levels.”
For a second week, imported rebar on a loaded truck basis at the US Gulf Coast and US East Coast declined another $0.50/cwt. to $35.50-37.50/cwt. ($720-760/nt or $794-838/mt), off from $36.00-38.00/cwt. ($720-760/nt or $794-838/mt), or on average $37.00/cwt., one week earlier. May import shipments from Egypt, Algeria and Vietnam for late-June-late-July delivery into the US Gulf Coast are discussed lower at $35.50-36.50/cwt. ($710-7830/nt or $783-805/mt), off from $36.00-37.00/cwt. ($720-740/nt or $794-816/mt) one week ago.
In the Mexican long steel export market, trading remains quiet and flat as 25 percent tariffs continue to limit available trade opportunities, import insiders said. Import rebar on a loaded truck basis vicinity Houston, Texas, from available US stock is reported flat at $36.75-38.75/cwt. ($735-775/nt or $810-854/mt), versus earlier trades three weeks earlier at $37.00-39.00/cwt. ($740-780/nt or $816-860/mt), market insiders told SteelOrbis.
Insiders predict that as Section 232 steel tariffs of 25 percent are now in effect, import shipments on rebar from North Africa, Malaysia, and Vietnam are likely to rise as buyers adjust existing supply chains to make up the supply shortfall from previous sales originating out of Bulgaria and the Ukraine. Those steel exporting nations were previously exempt from import tariffs.
In other import rebar markets, pricing for import rebar on a CFR, free-out basis at the US Gulf Coast was discussed on average down $10/nt at $605-625/nt ($667-689/mt), off from pricing that was reported flat this past week at $615-635/nt ($678-700/mt) one week earlier.
The price of imported wire rod mesh on a DDP loaded truck basis dipped another $0.50/nt this week with sales noted at $36.50-37.50/cwt. ($730-750/nt or $805-827/mt), off from $37.00-38.00/cwt. ($740-760/nt or $794-816/mt) a week ago.
On the US scrap side, plentiful supply and limited expected May buying from domestic mills has caused US Midwest scrap grades to decline by $20-40/gt ($20-41/mt) from their April counterparts, with shredded grades leading the monthly decline at $40/gt discounts, insiders said. On the US East Coast, reduced export demand from Europe and Turkey has caused scrap pricing to dip for as second month, with shredded and cut grades seen $40/gt ($41/mt) lower, while prime busheling is seen $30/gt ($30/mt) less than April settled values.