US domestic wire rod prices have increased by approximately $1.50 cwt. ($33 /mt or $30 /nt) in the past week, and indications are that prices will keep on rising.
The new accepted range for domestic low carbon rods is $37.50 cwt. to $38.50 cwt. ($827 /mt to $849 /mt or $750 /nt to $770 /nt) FOB mill. High carbon prices now range from $40.00 cwt. to $41.00 cwt. ($882 /mt to $904 /mt or $800 /nt to $820 /nt) FOB mill, and mesh prices range from $36.50 cwt. to $37.50 cwt. ($805 /mt to $827 /mt or $730 /nt to $754 /nt) FOB mill.
The domestic mills' March price increase has fully taken hold, and the buzz in the market is that the mills will soon announce another price increase for April/May shipments. The domestic pricing trend for rods is strongly up as another price hike may be imminent. Supplies are still tight, lead times are getting longer, imports are still priced above domestic levels, and scrap prices are starting to trend up again, so domestic mills should have no problem getting customers to accept an increase.
The pricing trend for import rods also remains strongly up, as mills from Turkey, Germany, and China have all returned to the market with higher offers this week, and customers are biting. On average, import rod prices have risen approximately $1.00 cwt. ($22 /mt or $20 /nt) in the past week.
The level of accepted offers for mesh quality import rods now ranges from $40.50 cwt. to $41.50 cwt. ($893 /mt to $915 /mt or $810 /nt to $830 /nt) FOB loaded truck, in US Gulf ports. Import drawing quality rods now range from $42.25 cwt. to $43.25 cwt. ($931 /mt to $954 /mt or $845 /nt to $865 /nt) FOB loaded truck, in US Gulf ports.
If domestic rod prices are hiked up another notch as expected, they will be within striking distance of import prices, which have remained higher than the domestic numbers for many months. However, import numbers are still trending upwards as well and, with the tight market conditions, import mills will see a US domestic price increase as a reason to raise their offering prices for the US by a comparable amount.
In the meantime, wire prices are also going up but are barely keeping up with the rapid rise of wire rod prices. Demand for wire is still reportedly sluggish.