Sources tell SteelOrbis that little if anything has changed in the US domestic wire rod market in the last week, with steady prices and continuously lackluster demand. With US domestic scrap prices expected to trend sideways in June, US wire rod mills won’t have much leverage to push for firmer price levels, but sources say that at the very least, “mills aren’t going to let prices drop.”
One bright spot on the mill level was a US DOC ruling this week that revised the AD margins against certain wire rod imports from Mexico. In an administrative review, the DOC increased AD margins against Deacero to 40.52 percent from the previous margin of 1.13 percent. Margins for wire rod imports from ArcelorMittal Las Truchas, which was also involved in the administrative review, remained at the previous level of 2.59 percent.
Although sources do not believe the results will “embolden” US wire rod mills to increase prices, the slow erosion of import availability might have “price consequences” in the future. For now, spot prices for US domestic wire rod remain at $29.50-$30.50 cwt. ($590-$610/nt or $650-$672/mt) ex-mill, unchanged since last week.