Under continuous pressure from weak demand, US domestic wire rod prices have dropped again this week, while import prices are on the brink of softening further.
As predicted, US domestic wire rod spot prices are still caving under the dual pressures of weak purchasing activity and soft scrap pricing, dropping again this week by $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt). However, while some sources think more weekly downticks are imminent, others point out that inventories are getting low, and wire product producers will need to resume purchasing activities sometime soon. Because of this, US wire rod mills might be able to hold spot prices firm within the next month, perhaps even if scrap drops slightly again in November, as early speculation predicts. For now, US domestic wire rod spot prices have slipped into the range of $35.50-$36.50 cwt. ($783-$805/mt or $710-$730/nt) ex-Midwest mill, with some transactions heard as low as $35.00 cwt. ($772/mt or $700/nt).
Import prices, on the other hand, have managed to stay level in the last week, but pressure is mounting for another downtrend. Turkish wire rod import offers are still in the range of $35.75-$36.75 cwt. ($788-$810/mt or $715-$735/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, but until Turkish mills make another round of official price decreases (which sources say should materialize soon, considering they need orders), sales prices in the US will remain the same. Understandably, US buyers are not exactly interested in import prices that are now higher than domestics.
Import offers from Spain, meanwhile, are still priced out of the market, even though the euro has begun to depreciate again. The current range has not changed from $37.50-$38.50 cwt. ($827-$849/mt or $750-$770/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, but unless the euro slips considerably against the US dollar, the price range will be largely ignored in the US.