With demand in the US import wire rod market still trending relatively lackluster, buyers have been successful in negotiating offers downward. Import wire rod offers to the US from Germany are now in a wider range of $34.00-$36.00 cwt. ($750-$794/mt or $680-$720/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, reflecting a decrease of $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) in the last week.
Additionally, new offers have been heard from Australia, coming in slightly lower at $33.00 cwt. ($728/mt or $660/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. While ocean freight costs from Australia are higher than from Europe due to the country being almost twice as far away, Australia is completely exempted from Section 232 tariffs and quotas. Australian wire rod imports to the US have increased recently, with US import license data showing 15,405 mt in import permits for November 2018 and 8,990 mt in December.