Considering US import wire rod offers are still close to—and in some cases above—US domestic wire rod spot prices, sources report little to no inquiry activity ahead of the holidays. Offers from Germany have not moved in the last week, and are still ranging anywhere from $34.00-$37.00 cwt. ($750-$816/mt or $680-$740/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, although sources tell SteelOrbis that the lower end of the range might not be available when buyers return to the market in January.
Sources also note the limited availability of import positions at the port. Although import permits for the first half of December show 9,736 mt in wire rod permits from Germany—which is a strong increase from the 675 mt in permits for the entirety of November and 1,114 mt in census data totals from October—most of those tons are reportedly “spoken for” and not available for spot buys.