US imported rebar prices continued to climb this week as Turkish import offers to the US have jumped in recent days, market sources said Wednesday.
Platts raised its US rebar import price assessment to $455-$464/st CIF Houston on Wednesday, up from $432-$441/st CIF.
One US-based trader said Turkish offers to the US were up as high as $525/mt CFR ($482/st CIF) Wednesday, but no bookings had been seen at this level. Most buyers won't buy any higher than $500/mt CFR ($459/st CIF), said a buy-side source. Another buyer said they recently made a purchase at $505/mt CFR ($464/st CIF), but said $525/mt CFR seems unobtainable.
"I think the mills have hit a ceiling, there's nothing really going on," the trader said. "Things are very quiet as far as ordering goes."
Given the run prices have been on and current demand, a reversal may be imminent in the short term, he said.
"A lot of ships coming in but right now it's very quiet," he said. "People don't want to buy at this level."
Despite Turkish rebar prices leaping more than $70/st since the start of April, they remain the price leader in the US Gulf, sources said.
"The only true competitors the Turks have are the Japanese, but they aren't going to undercut Turkey," the trader said. "Everyone is riding this wave."
