US-based rebar traders are still weighing offers from Turkish steel mills Friday and no deals have been heard after the US Department of Commerce's surprising negative determination in a dumping investigation, sources said.
A trader said Turkish mills are back in the US market at flat pricing relative to prices heard prior to the unofficial quiet period leading up to Commerce's final ruling Tuesday. He said rebar could be bought at $595/mt CFR Houston.
Another trader said $595/mt CFR Houston for December arrival is only available now with firm bids. He said it might take a little longer for people to start buying again. "We are not buying stock today since I believe they may come off more and reach $585/mt," he said. The trader has made some offers in Texas, which have been met with little interest. He said there is more interest upriver, where less Turkish rebar is due to arrive.
A Texas-based rebar buyer said he had heard from a trader that prices for January arrival for end-users are expected to fall back to $570/st ($628/mt) loaded truck in Houston. Prices had been trending up before Commerce found that Turkish rebar exporters did not dump steel in the US.
The buyer added that he talked to a domestic mill representative, who said that prices are likely to be level with where they are now -- around $660/st ex-works.
Immediately following Tuesday's ruling, the first trader said he was not sure how much longer he will be able to sell imported rebar to customers for more than $600/st ($661/mt).
The only factor working in his favor was, he said, that Commerce calculated dumping margins of 20.58-66.7% for Mexico, which has mostly kept Mexican rebar out of the US since May and tightened supplies.
A distributor said Turkish rebar prices have been trading within a narrow band, but still, he would not be surprised if there was a spike in prices. Import prices are $600/mt or higher CFR Gulf port, he said.
The Platts daily rebar price assessment remained at $540-550/st ($595-606/mt) CFR Houston Friday.
