Although US domestic wire rod mills have not yet announced their intentions regarding July wire rod prices, sources tell SteelOrbis that the most probable reaction to the $40-$50/long ton shredded scrap price drop this month will be a $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) transaction price decrease, mirroring mills' move with rebar. However, because spot prices came under intense customer pressure after last month's similar $1.00 cwt. price decrease, it is very likely that prices will soften beyond whatever mills officially announce. Until then, spot prices are still in the range of $33.00-$34.00 cwt. ($728-$750/mt or $660-$680/nt) ex-mill, but for the most part, customers are holding off purchases until July's price trend becomes clear.
As for imports, interest is still decent for attractively-priced Chinese offers--unchanged this week in the range of $31.50-$32.50 cwt. ($694-$717/mt or $630-$650/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Turkish wire rod offer prices, on the other hand, are on a downtrend, dropping $1.00 cwt. in the last week into the range of $32.00-$33.00 cwt. ($705-$728/mt or $640-$660/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. However, sources tell SteelOrbis that even that much of a drop is not enough to substantially increase demand for Turkish products.