Weak demand and competition from an ample supply of Chinese positions at the port have put a damper on US domestic wire rod mills’ $1.00 cwt. ($20/nt or $22/mt) price increase attempt announced two weeks ago. Although the increase is supposed to be effective with shipments as of May 1, there has not been a flurry of buying activity ahead of time--sources tell SteelOrbis that customers are aware of the futility of the increase and will continue to place orders as needed. Additionally, spot prices for US domestic wire rod are “all over the place” according to sources, depending on the size of the order, as well as region of the US and localized demand. The lowest-heard offers are currently around the level of $32.50 cwt. ($650/nt or $728/mt) ex-mill, while the top end is still languishing at $34.50 cwt. ($680/nt or $761/mt) ex-mill. While the bulk of the orders in between are hitting somewhere around the middle of that range, sources tell SteelOrbis that mills are biding their time, waiting for the surge of Chinese imports to drain out before resuming their infamously hard stance on prices. Until then, many expect them to continue announcing price increases, to at least let the market know where it stands.
As for imports, Turkish wire rod offers are expected to soften soon--traders report that Turkish mills realized their offering levels to the US were unattainable, but they want to “feel out” the US import situation before officially lowering offers. Until then, offer prices from Turkey are still in the range of $31.00-$32.00 cwt. ($620-$640/nt or $683-$705/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports.