Prices for merchant bar quality (MBQ) steel were flat in the United States over the past month amid reports of mostly steady market conditions, while confirmed transactions for Mexican material have caused import prices to dip slightly.
Fastmarkets AMM assessed domestic 2- x 2- x 1/4 -inch angle merchant bar at $37.05 per hundredweight ($741 per short ton) fob mill on Friday March 29, unchanged from the prior assessment on February 22. At the same time, Fastmarkets AMM assessed imported merchant bar at $740-760 per ton ($37-38 per cwt) delivered duty paid Port of Houston on Friday, down from $760 per ton the previous month.A trader noted confirmed purchases of Mexican material in Texas at loaded truck prices of $37-38 per cwt."They're buying, but the market is not too active," this source said.US market eyes spring takeoff"The weather is starting to turn now," one distributor said, also indicating that notable economic indicators - including strong iron ore prices, a steady US dollar and rising oil prices - all portend favorable times ahead for the domestic...