As US-based traders contend with higher quotes from offshore rebar producers, their own customers in the US are still reluctant to follow the upward trend. “People aren’t biting,” said one trader source. “They’re waiting until the last possible moment.” Part of the reason customers are holding off on booking for higher prices, sources say, is the perception of import prices being “inflated” based on raw material costs. And yet, those same customers are reportedly “unbothered” by rapidly rising US domestic rebar prices, which is only partially attributed to scrap prices.
For now, imported rebar in the US domestic market from Turkey is still being sold in the range of $23.00-$24.00 cwt. ($460-$480/nt or $507-$529/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, reflecting no change in the last week. However, traders say that “time’s almost up” to book Turkish rebar before preliminary margins are announced in the trade case ruling early next year.