Last week, sources told SteelOrbis that the initial resistance to the mid-March $3.25 cwt. ($72/mt or $65/nt) mill-announced wire rod price increase had subsided, and buyers were starting to accept that prices were inevitably going to rise. This week, however, sentiment has shifted somewhat and as such, the expected price momentum has slowed.
Most in the US domestic wire rod market—mills included—were banking on US domestic scrap prices to rise again in April. But a late shift in the scrap market is now suggesting that scrap prices might trend neutral “at best,” and the possibility of a scrap price decrease is “wet blanket” on the hopes that wire rod prices would keep rising.
As such, US domestic wire rod spot prices are unchanged week-on-week after previous predictions of more upticks. Buyers are reportedly holding off for the moment until the scrap situation is clearer, so for now, spot prices remain at $46.00-$47.00 cwt. ($1,014-$1,036/mt or $920-$940/nt) ex-mill.