Prices for US-produced rebar continued to move up Tuesday in the Midwest and Southeast as mills have been working to implement a series of increases, sources said.
S&P Global Platts on Tuesday raised its weekly US Midwest rebar assessment to $550-$570/st ex-works, up from $520-$535/st.
US mills last week independently announced they would be raising rebar prices an additional $40/st, effective with new orders Tuesday and Wednesday, depending on the mill, marking the fourth consecutive month of announced increases.
In a letter to customers, Commercial Metals Co. attributed its increase to higher input costs, which one Midwest distributor agreed was proving upward momentum for rebar prices. During the January buy week, US shredded scrap prices settled $30-$40/lt above December levels, depending on region.
However, as February is typically a down market for scrap, going forward, increased demand is needed to support higher rebar pricing, sources said.
Currently, most mills have tons available, but as demand picks up, the most recent increase will likely fully stick in the market for February domestic rebar shipments, a Midwest source said.
"If rebar gets hard to find I think another increase will stick, but so far bar hasn't been too hard to find," said a fabricator in the Southeast. However, he added that inventories were likely to tighten approaching the spring when construction demand picks up.
Platts on Tuesday raised its daily US Southeast rebar assessment to $530-$550/st ex-works, this is up from $520-$540/st.
Relatively stable and higher import offer from Turkey since the start on the new year have also helped to support domestic prices in the Southeast region, sources agreed. Offers from Turkey continued to be in the range of $460-$470/mt CFR Houston ($423-$432/st CIF), US-based sources said.
Platts Tuesday maintained its daily imported rebar assessment at $423-$432/st CIF Houston.
