US steelmakers raise rebar prices

Market: Metals
06/03/23

Several US steelmakers raised reinforcing bar (rebar) prices over the weekend, signaling the end to resistance to rising raw materials costs.

Nucor's Auburn, New York; Wallingford, Connecticut; and Seattle, Washington, mills announced late last week a $50/short ton (st) base price increase for the most liquid #4-11 sizes, effective today.

Size #3 will be subject to an additional $80/st, while sizes #14 and #18 will have an extra $50/st charge. Market sources heard CMC also raised its prices by $50/st and Gerdau announced their prices rose by $50/st, effective today.

Argus-assessed rebar ex-works Midwest ended last week at $890/st, where it has stood since 10 February.

Rebar prices were mostly rangebound since mid-November, even after US scrap prices began climbing after seven months of steady declines. Theories as to the persistence of the price, which fluctuated between $890-930/st, varied for months.

Demand was initially thought to be stagnant for seasonal reasons, while the apparent absence of allocated funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) put a ceiling on prices.

Some market participants also posited that steelmakers' margins were simply not narrow enough to warrant an increase in prices. The March scrap trade is expected to settle at least $30-50/gross ton (gt) higher for obsolete grades and in excess of that for primes, depending on location, and allocations from the IIJA are reportedly reaching construction companies.

By Marialuisa Rincon

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