Even though this week's $30/long ton drop in November shredded scrap prices has not yet had a chance to absorb into the US wire rod market, spot prices are still slipping in the face of weak demand. Already, spot prices have downgraded to the level of $35.00-$36.00 cwt. ($772-$794/mt or $700-$720/nt) ex-mill, reflecting a decrease of $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) from prices reported last week. However, once mills take lower scrap prices into consideration, sources expect an official decrease in transaction prices of $1.00-$1.50 cwt. ($22-$33/mt or $20-$30/nt) for December shipments.
As for wire rod imports, activity has been slow so far this week considering that Turkey is currently celebrating the Eid holiday. Traders do not expect to hear new offers until late this week at the earliest, but they expect that new offers will be lower than the current range of $35.00-$36.00 cwt. ($772-$794/mt or $700-$720/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Even before the holiday started, there was not much interest in the lowest end of that range, so it is very likely that even with lower offers, Turkish mills will remain open to negotiation.