Although Turkish mills are reportedly trying to push import rebar offers to the US above the high end of last week’s CFR range (which reflected the first increase since prices hit bottom), traders tell SteelOrbis that their customers are not entirely interested in booking future orders at higher prices when they know cheaper positions are already heading to U.S. ports. As such, the current offer range in the U.S. is unchanged at $18.00-$19.00 cwt. ($360-$380/nt or $397-$419/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, although sources report some transactions taking place both above and below that range, depending on the destination.
As for the US domestic market, higher import offers and lower scrap prices this month would appear to cancel each other out, as sources report that mills have no plans to officially drop rebar prices—even though they have with other long products such as merchant bar. The actual spot range is still wide, at $26.00 cwt. ($520/nt or $573/mt) ex-mill on the low end and $29.00 cwt. ($580/nt or $639/mt) ex-mill, and unless something major shakes up the market—such as a severe winter storm that tightens scrap supply and boosts prices next month—the spot range will stay just as wide and flexible.