Turkish wire rod offers to the US have continued their downward trend this week, although the downticks are not as severe as rebar offers because they didn’t surge up as far in the first place. Sources tell SteelOrbis that tepid order activity helped mitigate the uptrend, and even though prices are now falling, bookings are not expected to increase until something resembling a price bottom.
For now, Turkish wire rod offers have fallen by about $0.75 cwt. ($15/nt or $17/mt), bringing prices into the range of $25.25-$26.25 cwt. ($505-$525/nt or $556-$578/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Once prices settle further down and booking resumes, sources say ordering activity will depend on the success of US domestic mills’ $1.00-$2.00 cwt. ($20-40/nt or $22-$44/mt) increase, which takes effect with shipments as of June 1. The market is already skeptical of its prospects, especially with scrap prices predicted to settle sideways next month.