Following last week’s announcement that US domestic wire rod prices would increase by $1.00-$2.00 cwt. ($20-$40/nt or $22-$44/mt), depending on the mill, for shipments as of June 1, Nucor issued another announcement today for one segment of its wire business. Wire mesh products will increase by $2.00 cwt. as of July 3, adding on to the June price bump.
Sources were surprised at the announcement, as there is still a lingering $0.50 cwt. ($10/nt or $11/mt) left from the mid-May $2.50 cwt. ($50/nt or $55/mt) price increase, which is suffering from dropping import offers and modest predictions for scrap prices in June. Spot prices are still in last-week’s range of $28.00-$29.00 cwt. ($560-$580/nt or $617-$639/mt) ex-mill, and with much of mills’ leverage disappearing, sources say prospects for the June price increase are dim.