Last week’s pause in downtrending spot prices in the US domestic wire rod market has continued this week, as sources report quiet activity ahead of the Independence Day holiday. Low demand combined with stable import offers are contributing to the trend, and sources say even though scrap prices are predicted to drop again in July, the effect on the wire rod prices will not work its way through the market until at least the middle of the month, if not longer considering buying activity is so lackluster.
As such, no major changes to the current spot range of $27.00-$28.00 cwt. ($540-$560/nt or $595-$617/mt) ex-mill are expected in the near-term, although sources report that range is still “quite flexible.” However, other sources note that when customers return to the market after the holiday, they could very well pressure mill to make that flexibility “official” with a price decrease announcement, especially since rebar mills did the same in mid-June.