With Chinese wire rod offers virtually out of the picture in the US import market, Turkish mills are eyeing an uptrend in offer prices to the US. Traders tell SteelOrbis that due to an alleged “wire rod shortage” in the region, offer prices for Turkish wire rod could rise by $1.00 cwt. ($20/nt or $22/mt) or more in the near-term. However, that doesn’t mean that the US import market will accept higher prices--even the last-heard range of $30.50-$31.50 cwt. ($610-$630/nt or $672-$694/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports has not garnered significant attention.
Demand is similarly weak in the US domestic market, with spot prices languishing at $34.00-$35.00 cwt. ($680-$700/nt or $750-$772/mt) ex-mill--although transactions at the higher end of the range are few and far between. With another scrap downtrend predicted for next month, sources tell SteelOrbis that US mills might have no choice but to lower offers. Whether that move will come in the form of an official announcement or quiet deals on a case-by-case basis--as is happening now--remains to be seen.