Despite demand that is far outpaced by other long products such as rebar, the US wire rod market has finally absorbed the last portion of the January 2-effective $2.25 cwt. ($45/nt or $50/mt) price increase. US domestic wire rod spot prices are now in the range of $33.25-$33.75 cwt. ($665-$675/nt or $733-$744/mt) ex-mill, reflecting an uptick of $0.25 cwt. ($5/nt or $5.50/mt) in the last week.
While the January increase took almost a full month to fully absorb into the market, sources tell SteelOrbis that the $2.25 cwt. ($45/nt or $50/mt) price increase effective with shipments as of February 1 might not follow the same trend. Much depends on US domestic scrap prices next month, and with some early predictions pointing to a sideways trend in scrap, US wire rod mills might not have the leverage to push through two strong price increases back-to-back. However, sources say mills will “definitely try,” and advise buyers to fill inventory shortages sooner rather than later.