Ample position availability of Chinese wire rod imports to the US have finally tapered off, with only 1,572 mt arriving in June (according to US import license data) compared to 71,090 mt (preliminary census data) in May. In contrast, Korean arrivals in June were up to 25,398 mt from 11,115 mt in May. However, traders are not reporting a marked increase in interest for deals at the port, as the prices they paid for the Korean wire rod is slightly above what they are offering for Turkish rod currently: $32.00-$33.00 cwt. ($640-$660/nt or $705-$727/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports.
As for the US domestic wire rod market, activity is slower than usual this week due to the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, although sources don’t expect much change in demand afterward. However, some sources are wondering if US mills will take advantage of new scrap uptrend predictions and announce a “ceremonial” price increase--meaning mills don’t expect to get it, but want to send a message to the market that they’re not particularly amenable to deals. Until then, US domestic spot prices are still in the range of $32.50-$33.50 cwt. ($650-$670/nt or $717-$739/mt) ex-mill.