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US rebar market feels import heat, awaits price drop

February 04, 2012 - 13:41 GMT Location: Toronto

KEYWORDS: rebar prices , rebar imports , scrap tags , Nucor , John Ferriola , merchant bar

Domestic merchant bar prices have come under pressure, with expectations of lower rebar tags in coming weeks fed by an onslaught of imports from Turkey and indications of lower scrap prices.

"We were told we were going to see an increased price if we didn’t order two weeks ago. Then we were told the same thing last week. I don’t think it will happen with the imports coming in now and on the horizon," one purchasing manager said.

Some U.S. rebar producers in early January announced a price increase of $30 per ton ($1.50 per hundredweight). But Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor Corp. came out with an increase of only $15 per ton (75 cents per cwt), which president and chief operating officer John Ferriola said at the time was in part a reaction to imports (AMM, Jan. 18).

But some market sources questioned whether even the $15-per-ton increase was holding, given the spread between domestic rebar prices and Turkish material.

According to preliminary U.S. Commerce Department import data, Turkey shipped 30,252 tonnes...

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