Although some foreign export offers of wire rod to the US have dropped in the last week, import sales prices in the US haven't declined yet; inquiry activity is low, traders tell SteelOrbis, because customers are not confident that prices have hit bottom yet, and are therefore waiting out the market for better deals. Turkish offer prices are still in the range of $33.75-$34.75 cwt. ($744-$766/mt or $675-$695/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, but lower scrap prices in the region will likely drag down long product prices in the near term. Chinese wire rod, meanwhile, is still slightly cheaper at $33.50-$34.50 cwt. ($739-$761/mt or $670-$690/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, but some traders are only buying from China on back-to-back orders, forgoing position opportunities for now.
In the US domestic market, most spot prices are still in the range of $36.00-$37.00 cwt. ($794-$816/mt or $720-$740/nt) ex-mill, but deals for around $0.25 cwt. ($5.50/mt or $5/nt) are becoming more and more prevalent. Because predictions for June shredded scrap prices currently point to a downward trend, there is a good chance the general spot range will slump as well even if US domestic mills keep transaction prices neutral on paper, as many sources expect they will despite lower scrap prices.