US-based traders tell SteelOrbis they are still in “discussions” with offshore mills regarding potential import wire rod orders, although actual bookings are tepid while prices remain relatively stable week-on-week. Turkish offers of imported wire rod in the US domestic market are still ranging from $25.50-$26.50 cwt. ($510-$530/nt or $562-$584/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, which does not reflect the moderate uptrend in offer prices on the CFR level due to lackluster demand in the US.
However, sources say wire rod from Turkey has taken a “back seat” to imported product from other sources recently, evidenced by current US import license data. For the month of July, there were no recorded import permits for Turkish wire rod, despite the overall import permit total of 125,728 mt. Likewise, August import permits as of Aug. 15 total 53,284 mt from all sources, with no permits connected to Turkish wire rod producers. In Turkey’s absence, countries such as Brazil, Japan, and Germany have emerged as solid alternate sources for US import wire rod, while Egypt—which had not sent any wire rod to the US in over a year—returned to the US import market in July, with over 25,000 mt in import permits recorded for July and the first half of August.