With scrap prices rising in Turkey, US-based traders tell SteelOrbis that it’s only a matter of time before Turkish mills increase wire rod offers to the US. However, they are expected to wait until after the US Labor Day holiday next week to make their move, anticipating little business activity in the days preceding it. Until then, Turkish wire rod in the US is still available in the range of $32.00-$33.00 cwt. ($640-$660/nt or $705-$727/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. While demand for future orders is on the “light side of steady” according to sources, interest isn’t much better for positions arriving in the port, which were booked at higher prices. US import license data indicates that so far in August, 28,205 mt of wire rod has arrived in the US from Turkey. And with so much product on-hand, traders say there’s a decent chance port prices might get flexible in the near term.
As for the US domestic market, demand remains slack and spot prices are stagnant in the range of $32.50-$33.50 cwt. ($650-$670/nt or $717-$739/mt) ex-mill. While about half of the mesh-product-only $2.00 cwt. ($40/nt or $44/mt) increase announced earlier in the month has absorbed into the market, sources say it is only due to supply constraints--lead times are out four to five weeks currently--and not strong demand.