Brazilian producers are negotiating wire rod of the mesh grade for export to Latin American countries in a price range of $560/mt to $570/mt FOB, against $545/mt to $555/mt FOB last week, a local market source told SteelOrbis.
According to the source, the increase reflects chiefly the shortage of material available for export, due to reduced local production of long products. The source added that additional price increases in the short term are not ruled out.
In April, ArcelorMittal exported 22,400 mt of wire rod at $727/mt, while Gerdau exported 5,300 mt at $564/mt. The destinations were the US (17,200 mt at $766/mt), South America (8,000 mt at $576/mt), Asia (1,900 mt at $630/mt) and Jamaica (600 mt at $486/mt), all FOB conditions, with different quality grades and price deals probably closed in February.