Despite a rush of optimism last week after the US Senate passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, initial positive sentiment has settled somewhat in the US domestic rebar market. Rumors circulated that rebar mills would announce a price increase in the range of $1.50-$2.50 cwt. ($33-$55/mt or $30-$50/nt) near the end of the week, but nothing has been issued so far.
Sources say the downtrend in import rebar offers might have something to do with the change of plans, as buyers face similar lead times between import and domestic orders. Also keeping pressure on mills is a strong sense that US domestic scrap prices will not rise next month.
As such, US domestic rebar prices are unchanged week-on-week, still ranging from $51.00-$53.00 cwt. ($1,124-$1,168/mt or $1,020-$1,060/nt) ex-mill in the Midwest, and $50.00-$52.00 cwt. ($1,102-$1,146/mt or $1,000-$1,040/nt) on the East coast.