As demand for US domestic wire rod is still low, an uptrend in scrap might not be enough to help mills push through their latest price increase.
All is quiet on the US domestic wire rod front--purchasing activity is tepid, demand is low, and sources tell SteelOrbis that the $1.00-$1.50 cwt. ($22-$33/mt or $20-$30/nt) increase announced for July has not had any effect on wire rod spot prices so far. Mills are expected to cling to the current spot range of $37.50-$38.50 cwt. ($827-$849/mt or $750- $770/nt) ex-Midwest mill, and although there is talk that shredded scrap prices could go up by a slight $10/lt this month, it will not be enough for mills to push through even a small portion of the increase. If anything, it will prevent spot prices from dipping further during the annual summer slump.
As for imports, inquiry activity is still static, as are wire rod offers from Turkey to the US. According to US traders, Turkish mills are waiting to see what happens in the US domestic market before adjusting prices, but it seems that a slight decrease in offer prices is inevitable in the next week or two. Any interest in import offers are pointing toward the bottom of the current range of $37.25-$38.25 cwt. ($821-$843/mt or $745-$765/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports--but "not a penny more" according to one Midwest trader.
If import interest continues to wane in the US wire rod market, it would reverse the strong uptrend in current import shipments seen since April. According to license data from the US Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis System (SIMA), the US imported 113,221 mt of wire rod in June, compared to 100,904 mt (preliminary census data) in May and 74,404 mt (census data) in April. Most notably, Turkey was the top source of imported wire rod in June, with 35,741 mt compared to Canada--which normally far exceeds all other sources--with 33,726 mt. Other notable sources of imported wire rod in June were nearly-fully-recovered Japan, with 12,875 mt; and Germany, which usually doesn't export more than 4,000 mt to the US, with 10,922 mt.