Slack activity in the US import rebar market can be blamed more on strategic waiting than lack of demand, as many traders are confident offer prices will continue to drop. For US buyers who can’t wait, rebar from Turkey is now being offered in the US for $25.00-$26.00 cwt. ($500-$520/nt or $551-$573/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, down $0.50 cwt. ($10/nt or $11/mt) since last week. However, positions are still available for about $3.00 cwt. ($60/nt or $66/mt) more than future offers, and traders say port prices could drop soon if February’s arrival numbers are anything like January’s 118,000 mt, according to US import license data.
As for the US domestic market, spot prices haven’t moved from last week’s range of $32.75-$33.75 cwt. ($655-$675/nt or $722-$744/mt) ex-mill. Sources tell SteelOrbis that US mills are “waiting out” the flood of import arrivals and downtrend of future import offers, but predictions of lower scrap prices for February are also affecting the domestic rebar trend. Prices are not expected to officially drop again, but sources believe mills might be flexible on a case-by-case basis, depending on how much scrap prices end up dropping.