Tepid demand for wire rod in both the US domestic and import markets, combined with overseas pressure to firm import offers, has left Turkish wire rod offer prices to the US relatively stagnant this week. Traders tell SteelOrbis that despite rising raw material costs in Turkey (import scrap along with Chinese billet), low demand in their target markets—including the US—has made it difficult to translate higher input costs into higher offer prices. However, sources say that if the raw material trend continues overseas, Turkish mills will have no choice but to raise prices anyway and “see what happens.”
US-based traders, meanwhile, are expected to reject a rise in offers, leaving their own offering prices to US customers in the stable range of $21.50-$22.50 cwt. ($430-$450/nt or $474-$496/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports.