US domestic long steel prices were steady to lower this week on a combination of plentiful domestic scrap supply and increased price pressure on US mills from cheap imports from overseas, market insiders told SteelOrbis this week.
As domestic and international scrap demand remains limited, May scrap prices for US Midwest shredded scrap in the Ohio Valley are last heard down $40/gt $41/mt) from April settlements at an estimated $415-420/gt ($422-427/mt). Domestic scrap dealers are currently asking mills to “buy more scrap” as export demand remains limited from Turkey as well as other nations as uncertainty over tariffs continues.
In the weekly rebar markets, insiders said increased exports to the US from Egypt, Malaysia, Algeria, and Vietnam are pressuring US mills to reduce their prices to remain competitive. Rebar supply in Texas is reported to be “in an oversupply situation because of heavy stock levels at the ports” because of increased April imports even given 25 percent tariffs, and limited domestic demand. “Bad weather in Houston, Texas is also not helping the spot market,” said another rebar insider.
Domestic rebar supply on an FOB mill basis is assessed with most transactions noted at $37.50-39.00/cwt., ($750-780/nt or $827-860/mt), on average $38.25/cwt., ($765/nt or $843/mt), down $0.50/cwt ($10/nt or $11/mt) from seven days ago. “With scrap decreasing, there is a lot of pressure on domestic rebar prices,” the SteelOrbis insider added.
“Domestic suppliers are not in a panic mode, but there’s some growing concern that there is quite a bit of imports coming in to the US,” the insider said. “We’re seeing some serious tonnages coming into the US from Egypt.”
Insiders said plentiful wire rod imports are likely to pressure domestic prices lower soon, though pricing remained steady to previous week levels as available wire rod supply from Liberty Steel remains limited, even though reports indicate start-up procedures have begun and the plant is actively starting to melt steel.
In the domestic wire rod market, most transactions were reported this week at $45.50-46.50/cwt ($910-930/nt or $1,003-1,025/mt), or an average of $46.00/cwt ($920/nt or $1,014/mt), unchanged from seven days earlier.