New price sought for rebar

Source: Rocky Mountain Steel

WHAT IT MEANS: Evraz-owned coiled rebar producer Rocky Mountain Steel boosted May-delivery list price by $176/ton but the action puts its pricing well ahead of the market. Early April prices were well under mill lists of $704 because of the collapse in housing construction.

Drop in March wire-rod imports

Source: Commerce Department

WHAT IT MEANS: Already weak imports of wire rod continued to decline in March from February, bringing the year-to-date tonnage down 53% compared to March 2007 imports. Reason: Plenty of cheap domestic supply in a soft market.

Short-term price seen for copper

Source: Southern Copper Corp.

WHAT IT MEANS: Oscar Gonzalez Rocha, CEO of Southern Copper, says the short-term price of copper cathode could be as high as $4/lb due to supply issues. He sees prices for the red metal elevated because of labor or energy problems affecting output at some mines in Peru, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and South Africa.