Demand for wire rod in the US has been stagnant for most of the year, which, as one of the few markets beyond Chinese wire rod mills’ reach, has compounded Turkey’s difficulty in boosting export orders and keeping prices firm. As such, import wire rod offers to the US from Turkey have plunged this week, with prices now available at $29.00-$30.00 cwt. ($580-$600/nt or $639-$661/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports--a $2.00 cwt. ($40/nt or $44/mt) decrease. According to sources, the only factors preventing an even steeper drop in prices are the downtrend in scrap and availability of low-priced Russian and Ukrainian billets that are keeping Turkish wire rod mill input costs down.
Meanwhile, the US domestic wire rod market seems to be uninterested in competing with import offers, sources say, with spot prices languishing in the range of $32.50-$33.50 cwt. ($650-$670/nt or $717-$739/mt) ex-mill. However, if US mills get wind that import inquiries are rising, sources tell SteelOrbis that a trend of quiet, unofficial deal-making might commence.