The domestic
wire rod market is still sailing smoothly, but some choppy waters may be ahead.
Especially now, there seem to be a lot holes for immediate
consumption, and the spot prices remain strong. The tight supply was helped by recent
production problems at Rocky Mountain Steel and Keystone, as well as the slow recovery of Gerdau Ameristeel and Ivaco plants that are coming out of their labor lock outs.
However, in the long run, there are some indications that the mills are willing to talk deals and discounts as record amounts of imports are coming in January, February and March. Also, inventories are going to be inflated. Therefore, the pricing trend for the next couple of months is slightly down.
Domestic low carbon grades still range from $26.50 cwt. to $27.50 cwt. ($584 /mt to $606 /mt or $530 /nt to $550 /nt) FOB mill. Depending on location and quality, some low carbon rod is selling for up to $28.50 cwt. (628 /mt or $570 /nt). High carbon grades range from $29.00 cwt. to $31.00 cwt. ($639 /mt to $683 /mt or $580 /nt to $620 /nt). Tire cord grades are excluded due to limited domestic supply.
The import prices for
wire rod are still expected to rise, and eventually US customers will have to accept higher prices from Turkish and Chinese mills. Export offers in
China and
Turkey are strongly going up, and April shipments are now completely sold out.
As a result, the domestic and import price difference is expected to narrow in the next few months.
Import offers are still ranging from $20.50 cwt. to $21.50 cwt. ($410 /nt to $430 /nt or $452 /mt to $474 /mt) for mesh quality. Drawing quality grades range from $22.50 cwt. to $23.50 cwt. ($450 /nt to $470 /nt or $496 /mt to $518 /mt) FOB US Gulf Ports.