As predicted in our report last week, US domestic rebar mills did not drop transaction prices by the full $25-$30/long ton decrease in shredded scrap this month--in an effort to hold onto the price gains they received in August, mills only dropped rebar prices by $0.75 cwt. ($17/mt or $15/nt) last week, effective immediately. While it is too early to predict the scrap trend for October, sources tell SteelOrbis that the price strengthening that usually appears in Q4 might not kick off as early as next month, and therefore rebar mills might be susceptible to negotiation if the raw material trend does not appear to be firm. For now, spot prices reflect last week's decrease and are now ranging from $33.75-$34.75 cwt. ($744-$766/mt or $675-$695/nt) ex-mill.
As for imports, Turkish mill offers for rebar have continued to decline in the last week, but the trend is not entirely apparent in new booking offers. According to sources, traders still have substantial stockpiles of higher-priced rebar, and are trying to unload it before focusing on new orders. However, although overall interest in imported rebar is not strong at the moment, demand is not weak enough for traders to offer Turkish rebar for less than $32.00-$33.00 cwt. ($705-$728/mt or $640-$660/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports--unchanged from last week. As for Mexico, rebar mills south of the border are expected to follow the US price trend and drop offers around $0.75 cwt. While nothing official has been announced yet, traders say there's a good chance orders can already be booked beneath last week's range of $32.00-$33.00 cwt. DDP loaded truck delivered to US border states.