US domestic wire rod prices have continued to trend steady this week, but sources tell SteelOrbis that “conditions might be right” for a softening trend. “When prices don’t rise for a few months, they’re bound to go down,” one source said, adding that demand is “okay” and buyers might soon expect flexibility with ex-mill wire rod prices.
Other factors influencing US domestic wire rod prices could also cancel each other out, sources say. Any leverage US wire rod mills might gain from a moderate rise in US domestic scrap prices this month could be mitigated by ongoing ample availability of wire rod positions at US ports. Despite October wire rod import permits declining slightly from September census totals, US import data already show about 33,000 mt of wire rod import permits for the first week of November, over half of the 61,812 mt of import permits in October. And although the margin between US domestic and import wire rod prices isn’t necessarily that wide, sources say it still puts US domestic wire rod mills in a “defensively competitive” position.
For now, US domestic wire rod spot prices are unchanged week-on-week in the range of $39.00-$40.00 cwt. ($860-$882/mt or $780-$800/nt) ex-mill.