The US import rebar market is still trending neutral this week as buyers and sellers wait for the US Department of Commerce (DOC) to issue final margins in the trade case against rebar from Turkey, Taiwan and Japan. Quotations on the CFR level have remained mostly stable along with sales prices in the US, and while traders tell SteelOrbis that the don’t expect margins from Turkey will exceed those that resulted in the trade case that settled three years ago, distributor sources say the “atmosphere is different” this time around, primarily due to the Trump administration’s trade protectionism, and prohibitively high margins are “within the realm of possibility.”
Until the results are released, US import rebar prices from Turkey should remain stable. Imported rebar in the US domestic market from Turkey is still available for around $23.50-$24.50 cwt. ($470-$490/nt or $518-$540/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, reflecting no change from prices reported a week ago.