Import rebar offers for US customers have slipped in the last week, as traders compete for business.
With the slow rebar demand in the US, traders have to lower their prices to attract any orders. Foreign mills' rebar offers to the US have not declined since last week, but the decrease in ocean freight rates has allowed traders to lower their prices to match the weak demand.
Most new import rebar offers now range from approximately $24.50 cwt. to $25.50 cwt. ($540 /mt to $562 /mt or $490 /nt to $510 /nt), representing a decrease of $0.50 cwt. ($11 /mt or $10 /nt) since last week. Turkish and Mexican mills continue to lead the way with the lowest priced offers, while new offers from Japan are a bit higher-priced. Some spot offers are still slightly higher than the price for future offers, but usually only for the more hard-to-get sizes.
The overall pricing trend for new import rebar offers remains neutral since, as we approach the end of the year, the foreign mills do not seem to be in a rush to lower their prices as they hope that a market turnaround is just around the corner; indeed the foreign mills may even try to get a small price increase in January.
Preliminary Census Data from the US Import Administration show a major decrease in import rebar tonnage to the US in November compared to both the previous month and the same month of last year. Rebar imports totaled 19,982 mt in November, compared to 34,294 mt in October and 60,888 mt in November. The US' largest source of import rebar in November was Turkey, at 13,191 mt, followed by Mexico, at 4,867 mt; Dominican Republic, 1,218 mt; Vietnam, 518.8 mt; and Germany, 147.0 mt.
On the domestic side, prices have trended sideways since last week, although scrap prices are still looking up for January, which may herald a small price increase for rebars in February. However, if the rise in scrap prices is only minor ($40 /nt or less) the mills may opt to absorb the additional cost, given the continued weak rebar demand.
For now, the pricing trend for domestic rebar is neutral, with most offers continuing to range from about $28.00 cwt to $28.50 ($617 /mt to $628 /mt or $560 /nt to $570 /nt) FOB mill.