US merchant bar quality steel prices flat, but demand said rising

Prices for domestic and imported merchant bar quality (MBQ) steel in the United States remained flat in the face of steadily rising demand from the construction industry in the West and the South as well as service centers rebuilding their inventories.

Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel bar 2 x 2 x 1/4 -inch angle merchant products, fob mill US held steady at $35.30 per hundredweight ($706 per short ton) on Friday October 30. The price rose by 4.4% to reach that level on September 25 after holding at $33.80 per cwt since April 24.
Fastmarkets' assessment for steel merchant bar, loaded truck Port of Houston for immediate delivery also was flat at $660-$680 per ton on Friday after rising by 4.7% in late September; that price had also been unchanged since April 24.
A trader in the South who represents overseas mills reported that the import market continues to be stymied by low US prices for merchant bar and beams and by long lead times for imported material.

"I received a couple of orders [for merchant bar] at prices close to domestic...

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