US wire rod mills are starting to fight back to stop spot prices from slipping further after weeks of sporadic drops.
While it seemed that US domestic wire rod's weekly price trend of alternating between slight decreases and neutral moves would continue at least until scrap pricing is announced next month, US mills are now fighting back and trying to hold the line on spot prices. Demand has not exactly rebounded in the last week, but sources tell SteelOrbis that there have been rumblings of strengthening interest in the market, giving mills confidence that they can hold prices through what will likely be another month of neutral shredded scrap prices in September.
For now, US domestic wire rod spot prices remain in the range of $36.75-$37.75 cwt. ($810-$832/mt or $735-$755/nt) ex-Midwest mill, reflecting no change from last week. The short-term outlook seems to point to a neutral trend for the next couple weeks, although sources say occasional deals below the current spot range are not unheard of.
Import offers are also unchanged this week, but in the case of Turkish wire rod, it has more to do with the end of the Ramadan holiday (most steel mills are closed this week) than anything else. Current offer prices are still in the range of $37.25-$37.75 cwt. ($821-$832/mt or $745-$755/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, but there have been hints that Turkish mills are itching to raise export prices once they return from the holiday. In the case of exports to the US, however, they will likely find not much acceptance of anything above the current offer level.