Another week of falling offer prices for import wire rod from Turkey has not garnered much interest from buyers, traders tell SteelOrbis, but some are hopeful that the situation will change once the annual “summer slowdown” comes to an end. Down $0.75 ($15/nt or $17/mt) in the last week, Turkish wire rod offers are now ranging from $24.25-$25.25 cwt. ($485-$505/nt or $535-$557/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, with some deals for Gulf-area buyers still hovering at $24.00 cwt. ($480/nt or $529/mt) or lower. Prices have not quite hit bottom, sources say, but the weekly dips aren’t expected to get any larger.
In the US domestic market, indifference to low prices and summer demand levels have left mills struggling to book orders in the range of $27.50-$28.50 cwt. ($550-$570/nt or $606-$628/mt) ex-mill, reflecting no change in the last week.