Prices for reinforcing bar steel in the United States continued to soften on weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets AMM.
Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for domestic rebar is $34.25-35.25 per hundredweight fob mill as of Wednesday May 1, down 0.7% from $34.50-35.50 per cwt two weeks earlier and off 2.1% from $35-36 per cwt at the beginning of the year. At the same time, Fastmarkets' assessment for imported rebar lowered to $670-690 per ton cfr Port of Houston from $685-700 per ton previously.Largely flat to down market sentiment Fastmarkets previously reported that the domestic rebar market was facing downward pressure from slower market activity and declining ferrous scrap costs.According to sources, these same dynamics continue to weigh on spot pricing, along with added pressure from inclement weather holding back construction projects. "Domestic mills' order logs are not great from what I've seen," said one trader, who put the spot price in the northeastern US around $35.25 for more normal orders. This...