Turkish rebar prices to the US have dipped below December levels, with multiple market sources reporting seeing lower prices beginning to surface at the end of last week.
On Tuesday, Platts lowered its daily US imported rebar price assessment to $308-$315/st CIF Houston, down from $311-$318/st.
One trader said he's heard Turkish offers as low as $320/mt CFR into the US Gulf Coast, but he expects most to be paying closer to $335/mt CFR, adding that future orders are few and far between. Turkey remains the price leader in the US Gulf Coast.
"What you buy today you won't see until March or April, and there's just not an appetite there for speculating more business," he said. Many Southeast buyers bulked up ahead of December to avoid any applicable state inventory tax and ordered extra for delivery in January and February to offset any shortage, he said.
"Maybe next month we'll see people come back to the table, but right now we're just not seeing a lot of activity," he said.
Despite attempts by Turkish mills to raise domestic and export pricing this week, one Southeast distributor said he expects offers to the US to remain stable given current demand.
Platts assessed Turkish export rebar at $325/mt Tuesday, stable from Monday. Turkey's Marmara-based longs steelmaker Icdas increased its domestic rebar and wire rod list prices by a further $6.50/mt on Tuesday, Platts reported. An increase in export price was expected soon, Turkish producers told Platts Tuesday, but a second US-based trader said it's unclear if a price increase would stick in the US.
"I don't see any change happening in the near future," he said.
