Three weeks after US domestic wire rod mills announced a $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) price increase, sources say buyers have largely rejected the uptick, and while some smaller customer might be paying all or a portion of increase, overall wire rod spot prices have not changed.
Sources say December “isn’t the best month for a price increase” unless the market is unusually strong, and the US wire rod market has been chugging along steadily but struggling to improve in terms of demand and prices. And while US shredded scrap prices are trending up again this month, sources say it might not be enough to impact wire rod transactions until the New Year.
For now, US domestic wire rod prices are steady week-on-week at $39.50-$40.50 cwt. ($871-$893/mt or $790-$810/nt) ex-mill.