Sources are still split when it comes to predicting whether US domestic wire rod mills will announce an official price decrease as a response to plunging scrap prices, or continue on with individual deals. It’s too soon for the scrap trend to make waves in the spot market, but some sources are reporting significant deals for large customers demanding that the raw material cost savings flow downstream. Most wire rod spot prices are still between $26.00-$27.00 cwt. ($520-$540/nt or $573-$595/mt) ex-mill, but a few deals for as much as $2.00 cwt. ($40/nt or $44/mt) underneath the range have been heard of in the last couple days. Whether these prices expand to a larger share of customers remains to be seen, but sources say customers with any size order should be able to “work something out.”
As for imports, wire rod from Turkey is still being offered for about $20.00-$21.00 cwt. ($400-$420/nt or $440-$462/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports this week, although the lack of change from last week doesn’t necessarily mean the bottom has been reached, according to traders. More small downticks are still expected.