After a full week back from the holidays, the US import rebar market saw a slight rise in offer prices, and sources say more increases are on the way. Rising scrap prices in Turkey are cited as the reason behind the uptick—imported rebar in the US domestic market from Turkey is now in the range of $24.00-$25.00 cwt. ($480-$500/nt or $529-$551/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, reflecting an increase of $1.00 cwt. ($20/nt or $22/mt) in the last week.
But rising scrap prices in the US domestic market could also have an imminent effect on import prices—two US mills have already issued $2.00 cwt. ($40/nt or $44/mt) price increases for rebar based on higher January shredded prices, with more mills to follow. Sources say it’s too soon for the US domestic trend to factor into import prices, but higher offers are expected within a week. Traders also tell SteelOrbis they expect a subsequent uptick in purchasing activity, as customers seek to take advantage of the margin between import and domestic rebar prices before it narrows too much.