While only a small portion of the $1.25 cwt. ($25/nt or $28/mt) US domestic wire rod price increase announced in late November finally absorbed into the market last week, US wire rod mills have followed with another price increase effective with orders as of this week. The newest increase, for $1.50 cwt. ($30/nt or $33/nt) has been met with skepticism, as conditions that hampered the November increase—primarily low demand—are still reportedly in effect.
US domestic scrap prices increased this month, giving wire rod mills a measure of leverage, but adding $1.50 cwt. to the remainder of the November increase—only $0.50 cwt. ($10/nt or $11/mt) has absorbed into spot prices—is “too much too soon,” sources say.
So far, the only impact of the latest increase in the market is less availability for offers on the lower end of the spot price range. So while the range is unchanged this week at $29.00-$30.00 cwt. ($580-$600/nt or $639-$661/mt) ex-mill, most transactions are taking place in the mid-to-upper end of the range. By next week, sources say, there will be a clearer consensus on the prospects of the latest price increase.