US domestic long steel prices were steady to another $0.50/cwt., less this week as a result of a steady to lower domestic scrap pricing sentiment, limited summer long steel spot buying activity, and amid reports that steel imports are pressuring domestic prices, market insiders told SteelOrbis.
Insiders said market sentiment for the US ferrous domestic scrap market in August remains tepid at best, despite a continuing price boom in the finished steel sector. Contacts report ample amounts of material available in the market, given that some material has not left the country due to a recent weak export market on both coasts.
This 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 that domestic scrap market fundamentals for prime grades remain positive, yet the recent removal of threatened 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian pig iron exports to the US could keep a lid on those values.
“While prices are a bit lower again in thin summer trade, supply still remains fairly tight with demand fairly solid,” said one US Midwest long steel insider. “I think overall, we're in a period of summer doldrums, with values a little bit less, though the bottom of the longs market has clearly not fallen out.” He continued, “We expect a stronger market to emerge in September as markets begin to pick up again with more plant maintenance likely to restrict local supply, and the end of summer vacations.”
On the US Gulf Coast, spot rebar on an FOB mill basis is assessed $0.50/cwt., less at $45.50-$46.50/cwt., ($910-930/nt or $1,003-1,025/mt), off from last week's flat assessment at $46.00-$47.00/nt ($920-940/nt or $1,014-1,036/mt). Insiders told SteelOrbis recent lower offers of imported rebar at $44.00-45.00/cwt., (off another $0.50/cwt., this week) 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 about $1.50/cwt., ($30/nt) since early July.
As Mideast hostilities continued to ramp up this week, it remains inconclusive whether recent reports of “wild card” 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 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 import arbitrage opportunities could become more limited.
In the domestic wire rod markets, insiders report supplies remain a bit tighter than those for rebar, even though UK-based steelmaker Liberty Steel has about 300 of its employees at its Bartonville, Illinois wire and rod plant 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.” 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.
Spot pricing this week for domestic wire rod is reported flat 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 one week 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 drop in local FOB mill 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 price levels, and increased supply from Malaysia, insiders said, have made rebar imports a more viable option.
“We're not seeing too many new spot transactions occurring this week,” the Midwest insider said. “But, we're hearing that steel fabricators in the US are now hedging their current jobs with less-costly imported materials.”
