Reinforcing bar (rebar) steel prices have risen in the United States following late-February's mill hikes, while import prices have fallen following confirmed offers for Italian material.
Fastmarkets' assessment for domestic rebar increased to $35.25-36.50 per hundredweight ($705-730 per short ton) fob mill on Wednesday March 6, up by 2.6% from $34.25-35.75 per cwt previously. At the same time, the higher end of Fastmarkets' assessment for imported rebar narrowed downward by $20, settling at $650-670 per ton cfr port of Houston on Wednesday. Mill hikes pass; market waits for spring Commercial Metals Co, Nucor Corp and Gerdau Long Steel North America raised their rebar prices by $20 per ton ($1 per cwt) toward the end of last month, which market sources said have been passed through to the marketplace without any resistance. "I believe they'll stick," one US trader said of the mill hikes. Current pricing levels will be supported by higher shredded scrap prices, which increased by $20 per gross ton for March, in conjunction with spring construction season looming, this...