Although US domestic wire rod prices are in a weak position considering demand and the multi-month scrap downtrend, spot prices are not dropping as much as customers would like, which has turned their attention more toward imports lately. Turkish wire rod producers, taking full advantage of Chinese offers disappearing from the US market in light of the trade case against them, are slowly firming up offers to the US, but considering that slightly higher import prices are still well below US domestic spots, inquiry activity has increased in the last week. Currently, Turkish offers for wire rod the US are now in the range of $31.00-$32.00 cwt. ($620-$640/nt or $683-$705/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, reflecting an increase of $0.50 cwt. ($10/nt or $11/mt) since the last report.
As mentioned, US domestic wire rod mills are holding fast to the current spot range of $33.50-$34.50 cwt. ($670-$690/nt or $739-$761/mt) ex-mill. While sources tell SteelOrbis that it’s very likely that prices could slip by around $0.50 cwt. in the near term, not enough deals have been cut to shift the general range for now.