US domestic long steel prices were steady this week in seasonally thin trade as a result of a growing steady to down domestic scrap pricing sentiment, even as contacts now report that supply is beginning to tighten up, market insiders told SteelOrbis.
Like last week, August scrap is called sideways with a $10/gt decline possible for the shred and HMS I grades used primarily to produce rebar and wire rod at domestic EAF mills. Scrap insiders report domestic scrap market fundamentals for prime grades remain positive, yet the recent removal of tariffs for Brazilian pig iron could keep a lid on those values.
“Availability is spotty, but improving,” said one US Midwest long steel insider. “From our perspective, prices are unchanged. While it remains pretty busy, there is very little pressure to lower prices, despite lower scrap values.”
On the US Gulf Coast, spot rebar on an FOB mill basis is assessed unchanged from one week ago at $45.50-$46.50/cwt., ($910-930/nt or $1,003-1,025/mt), following $0.50/cwt., declines a week earlier. Insiders told SteelOrbis recent lower offers of imported rebar at $44.00-45.00/cwt., (steady this week following previous $0.50/cwt., declines a week earlier) continue to exert pressure on US suppliers to reduce first-month Q3 price offers. An examination of SteelOrbis historical data shows prices for domestic rebar on an FOB mill basis have declined a total of $1.50/cwt., ($30/nt) since early July.
As Mideast hostilities continue between the US and Iran, it remains unclear whether earlier reports of “wild card” long steel suppliers from Indonesia and other Asian nations such as Korea and Vietnam will continue to act as potential sources of lower-cost wire and rod, as markets advance through the third quarter and hostilities with Iran continue to disrupt local and global supply chains. Recent July 14 rebar price increases of $30/nt ($1.50/cwt.) by Nucor at its Seattle, WA, Plymouth, UT, and Kingman, AZ bar mills would seem to indicate that recent arbitrage opportunities currently are more limited.
In the domestic wire rod markets, insiders report supplies remain “a bit tight but ample,” even though UK-based steelmaker Liberty Steel has about 300 of its employees at its Bartonville, Illinois wire and rod plant still on temporary furlough as of July 13 amid reports of weakening demand in the US industrial wire products segment and continued pressure from imports.
The company added that US markets continue to be affected by increased volumes of “unfairly traded imported products,” which have added to pricing pressure for domestic producers. A company spokesperson said “like many manufacturers, Liberty Steel periodically adjusts production levels to match customer demand while protecting the long-term health of its business.”
Liberty Steel employee furloughs were expected to last two to three weeks as the company processes existing orders, matching production with current market demand, and monitors economic conditions. And, while this week represents the third full week of furloughs, no official update on employee status at the mill was available at press time.
Spot pricing this week for domestic wire rod is reported flat again on the week at $49.50-50.50/cwt., ($990-1010/nt or $1,091-1,113/mt), following a $0.50/cwt., ($10/nt) decline two weeks earlier amid reports of thin trade and marginal local demand requirements. Over the past month, wire rod prices have declined just $0.50/nt versus a larger $1.50/nt dip in rebar values.
While long steel spot markets remain stable to a bit lower, a look at SteelOrbis historical data shows current domestic rebar and wire rod prices remain at their highest levels since October 2022 -the result of solid demand mostly from US data center build activities combined with a more recent doubling of Section 232 steel import tariffs enacted by US President Trump in June 2025, which slashed imports and increased domestic long steel prices. Recent domestic price increases, insiders said, have made limited rebar imports a viable option once again, despite more complicated logistics.
