Prices decreased in most markets last week, with demand for rebar remaining subdued in many regions, but a recovery in prices for semi-finished material in China led to improved sentiment in some countries later in the week.

There are reasons to believe the worst is over for a domestic steel market rattled by the Covid-19 pandemic, Nucor Corp president and chief executive officer Leon Topalian told attendees of Fastmarkets’ Steel Success Strategies Online conference on Monday October 26.

The Trump administration’s surprise doubling of Section 232 duties on Turkish steel imports has gone into effect and could hammer US ferrous scrap prices as well as the steel trade landscape.

Prices in most locations moved up this week, with Chinese mills out of the market due to the weeklong Lunar New Year and continued strong scrap prices.

The Turkish long steel export market has remained sluggish because of the uncertainty created by the Section 232 tariffs imposed by the United States, and prices have started to fall, sources said on Thursday March 22.

Steel price trends and market fundamentals in China set the heartbeat for the international spot market.

Liepajas Metalurgs plans to resume production at the end November, a spokeswoman for the Latvian mill’s new owner, Ukrainian KVV Group, told Steel First on Friday October 3.

Severstal, Russia’s second-largest steelmaker, has sold 5,000 tonnes of billet to Saudi Arabia, two sources have told Steel First.

Global steel billet prices continued to climb this week on strong demand from buyers, who are hoping to secure volumes before prices move up further.

China’s ferrous scrap market plummeted over the past three weeks due to destocking pressure on sellers coupled with low procurement rates among mills, which sent prices to their lowest in close to two years.