US rebar market - Upward momentum continues

Since last week, import rebar offers have gone up slightly, by $0.25 cwt.($5.50 /mt or $5 /nt), now ranging from $24.75 cwt. to $25.75 cwt. ($546 /mt to $568 /mt or $495 /nt to $515 /nt) FOB, loaded truck, in US Gulf ports. The import pricing trend is still slightly up, as mills are very busy and filled up until the end of July. The domestic market for rebar in Turkey has slowed down a bit, but it is still quite healthy as construction levels are high in the Persian Gulf. Scrap prices in the Black Sea region have stopped going up; while they might be heading down soon, this will not bother the Turkish mills, as they are seeing good demand internationally and will probably not lower prices. US government import statistics show that the three countries the US imported the highest amount of rebar from in 2006, as of April 18, are: Turkey, at 452'121 mt; Taiwan, at 98'698 mt; and Japan, at 72'080 mt. Turkey is overwhelmingly the largest import supplier in the absence of European and South American sources. In the US, the pricing trend for rebar is still slightly up as some second-tier mills are starting to raise prices again, ahead of market leader Nucor. This indicates that we may see another across-the-board price increase for June. Domestic offers for May delivery range from $25.50 cwt. to $26.00 cwt. ($562 /mt to $573 /mt or $510 /nt to $520 /nt) FOB mill. Extras change from one domestic producer to another and vary depending on bar size, grade, and length. #3's (9.5 mm) fetch the highest extra.