Although offer prices for Turkish rebar are getting more attractive by the day, traders tell SteelOrbis that actual booking activity is “lackluster at best” as customers wait for prices to hit bottom. This week, sales offers in the US for Turkish rebar are ranging from $22.00-$24.00 cwt. ($440-$480/nt or $485-$529/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, reflecting a $1.00 cwt. ($20/nt or $22/mt) drop since our last report a week ago.
Sources tell SteelOrbis there is plenty of availability for July shipments, and one trader said that if he floated a nice enough price, he could get rebar on a ship for July arrival. While current Turkish rebar arrivals are following a slight downtrend from March’s 12-month high of 200,586 mt tons, sources expect arrivals in June and July to spike. This could wreak havoc on the US import rebar market, as tags on those arrivals will likely be sky-high compared to future offers. Not only will the ensuing “price bloodbath” only benefit customers at the bottom of the supply chain, it will no doubt have a strong influence on domestic prices as well.