Buying activity within the US domestic wire rod market has not increased measurably since the holidays, leaving spot prices unchanged. Some point to the likelihood of a scrap price increase this month and say that it could inspire wire rod mills to firm up prices, but other sources say the best mills can hope for in the even of higher scrap is wire rod prices that don’t drop further.
And while sources continue to report “very attractive” import offers from Malaysia that are well below US domestic prices, the extended lead times for Asian imports has made the material not as competitive as it could be. As such, US domestic wire rod spot prices are unchanged in the last two weeks at $42.50-$43.50 cwt. ($937-$959/mt or $850-$870/nt) ex-mill.