June 2009 | Steel Tracker
"Buy American" provisions keep mills hopeful: Long Products Analysis-North America, Europe
Sometime soon the US federal spending programme will bring steel bar and wire rod back to life.
Rebar prices in the USA are still low, but they are showing the first signs of rising out of the trough seen in April. Sections prices are reported to be steady, but it is not entirely certain whether the June price increases were accepted without some discounting.
The price strength seen now remains due to tight supply, low domestic output, low stocks, and imports restrained by the combined effects of the dollar uncertainty and the debate over the “Buy American” provisions of infrastructure spending.
Arguments are continuing concerning the definition of product origins. It is assumed that the provisions rule out the use of imported semis – billets and blooms – as much as imported bars and beams. It is notable that there was a sharp drop in applications for import licences for semis in May.
Private spending...
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