Average offer prices for ex-China wire rod have moved sideways over the past week amid the stable trend of rebar futures prices and the impact of the New Year holiday. However, the mood on the first working day of 2025 has been mainly negative.
Offers for ex-China wire rod from second-tier mills have been heard at $470-485/mt FOB, moving sideways on average compared to December 26, while reference deal prices have been heard at $470/mt FOB.
During the given week, wire rod prices in the Chinese domestic market have remained stable as the New Year holiday exerted a negative impact on the demand from downstream users. However, the relatively low inventory levels have bolstered wire rod prices to a certain degree. On January 1, Jiangsu Province-based Shagang Group cut its offer prices for rebar and high-speed wire rod by RMB 100/mt ($14/mt) for delivery during January 1-10, which will weaken the support for prices and signals pessimistic sentiment in China. It is thought that wire rod prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely edge down in the coming week.
Wire rod offer prices from Indonesia’s Dexin have been heard at $470/mt FOB, moving down by $5/mt over the past week, while additional discounts can be discussed, with offer prices of ex-Malaysia wire rod being heard at $495/mt FOB.
As of January 2, rebar futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,306/mt ($460/mt), increasing by RMB 1/mt ($0.14/mt) since December 26, while down 0.18 percent compared to the previous trading day, December 31.
$1 = RMB 7.1879
