This week, the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) voted to maintain existing countervailing duty and antidumping orders on imports of steel nails from a number of countries. The decision came as part of a five-year sunset review.

Revoking the existing antidumping and countervailing duty orders on imports of steel nails “would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time,” the USITC argued.

The ruling covered imports from Korea, Malaysia, Oman, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, in April, the US Court of International Trade upheld antidumping duties on certain steel nails from China.

Housing starts slide
Speaking of construction, US housing starts slumped in April, posting the sharpest drop since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Privately‐owned housing starts reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,569,000 in April. That marked a drop of 9.5% from March.

Meanwhile, for people struggling to find a home in what has been a decidedly seller’s market, April did no favors to housing supply. Single‐family housing starts in April hit a rate of 1,087,000. That marked a 13.4% decline from the previous month.

Furthermore, privately-owned housing completions in April fell 4.4% compared with the previous month.

Builders continue to struggle with shortages of materials and skyrocketing prices, particularly for lumber.

Here on MetalMiner, we’ve delved into the factors underpinning what has been an allocation market for steel and other materials.

There are many indications current market conditions will persist through the end of the year. However, metals buyers will want to be ready when conditions begin to ease.

Source: Metal Miner