In a rare first-out-of-the-gate move, Steel Dynamics, Inc. announced a $1.00 cwt. ($20/nt or $22/mt) price increase for rebar late last week, but within days, other major US mills joined the fray with conflicting increase amounts: Gerdau matched SDI’s $1.00 cwt., while Nucor and CMC undercut them by half, announcing only $0.50 cwt. ($10/nt or $11/mt). However, sources say that in the ensuing days, it has become clear that the lower increase amount has “won the day” and already, Gerdau has quietly told customers they wouldn’t push for the full $1.00 cwt. As such, spot prices for US domestic rebar are now in the range of $35.25-$36.25 cwt. ($705-$725/nt or $777-$799/mt) ex-mill.
Meanwhile, the import rebar market is bracing for the final determinations in the trade case against Turkey and Mexico. The general consensus is that Turkey’s margins will be much higher than the preliminary determinations, and already, some traders have reported that at least one Turkish mill is starting to offer rebar “duty unpaid”. Traders’ wariness of booking at “open-ended” prices has not affected sales prices in the US quite yet, but they say next week the current range of $28.75-$29.75 cwt. ($575-$595/nt or $634-$656/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports should be slightly higher.