Mexican domestic wire rod prices climbed US$4/mt during the last two weeks, to reach US$734/mt-ex mill. The price increase is partially attributed to an increase in demand, as Mexican industry sources reported that apparent domestic consumption grew 6.8 percent for the first two months of 2013, adding 391,285 metric tons compared to 366,313 metric tons in the same period of 2012. It is likely that domestic consumption is being driven by private construction, including new industrial buildings related to the automotive sector and infrastructure projects such as expansion of some ports.
Further, reports indicate that during the same period, wire rod production grew 2.2 percent to reach 418,397 tons (compared to 409,299 in the same period of 2012) and imports of wire rod fell by 16.8 percent. Exports of wire rod also suffered a year-on-year drop, by 30.7 percent.