Recent price decreases have done nothing to spur the US rebar market, which continues to suffer from sluggish demand and hesitant buyers.
With construction in the US struggling to maintain even steady activity levels, nearly all links in the rebar supply chain--from traders to distributors to end users--report lackluster sales and dwindling optimism about the near-term prospects for the market. After Nucor's announcement last week of a $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) base price decrease for June deliveries--which one Midwest distributor said was only done to "legitimize spot deals"--spot prices in the US domestic market have continued to drop. Current spot offers are now heard in the range of $33.00-$34.00 cwt. ($728-$750/mt or $660-$680/nt) ex-mill, with some deals heard as low as $32.50 cwt. ($717/mt or $650/nt). This reflects a $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) decrease from last week, and sources tell SteelOrbis that considering the current demand situation, prices could dip even further.
This week's US spot price decrease now puts domestic prices right in line with Turkish offers, which have not budged in the last week. Prices are still in the range of $33.00-$34.00 cwt. ($728-$750/mt or $660-$680/nt) duty paid FOB loaded truck in US Gulf ports, but US traders report virtually no interest at that level--as with last week, they still can't even unload previous inventories at $32.50 cwt. While the local Turkish market is still enjoying an uptrend in prices domestically, they could be open to negotiating deals to the US. But for now, prices seem to be following a solid neutral trend.
South of the border, rebar offers from Mexican mills have not moved in the last week. Prices are still in the range of $32.25-$32.75 cwt. ($711-$722/mt or $645-$655/nt) duty paid FOB delivered to US border states. Although some sources say Mexican mills are still flexible with their pricing, others report that certain "reasonable offers" have been rejected. Either way, US buyer interest in imports is incredibly low.