After Nucor undercut Gerdau with a half-rate rebar price increase last week, Gerdau issued another letter to customers informing them that they would stand behind their original $1.00 cwt. ($20/nt or $22/mt) increase instead of caving to Nucor's $0.50 cwt. ($10/nt or $11/mt). As such, spot prices have increased by another $0.25 cwt. ($5/nt or $5.50/mt) in the last week. The remainder of Gerdau's increase is expected to permeate the market by the beginning of December, when Nucor will likely announce an additional $0.50 cwt. increase--at the very least, although up to $1.00 cwt. is probable, according to sources. However, with domestic demand strong and import activity lagging, the rest of the increase could be pushed through before then. For now, US domestic spot prices are in the new range of $32.75-$33.75 cwt. ($722-$744/mt or $655-$675/nt) ex-mill.
As for imports, traders still report mild interest in Turkish and Mexican rebar offers, although compared to the same time last year, actual booking activity is significantly stunted. Offers from both sources are still in last week's range of $30.00-$31.00 cwt. ($661-$683/mt or $600-$620/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports from Turkey and delivered to US border states from Mexico. Elsewhere, interest in Korean rebar has dropped off since coming on the scene in the last couple months, with offers languishing in the range of $32.00-$33.00 cwt. ($705-$727/mt or $640-$660/nt) DDP loaded truck in West Coast ports.