After dipping slightly last week--despite no official transaction price decrease--US domestic wire rod mills are still vulnerable. Sources tell SteelOrbis that mills are willing to strike deals to garner orders, especially from large customers, which means there's a good chance that some transactions will be concluded underneath the current spot range of $33.50-$34.50 cwt. ($739-$761/mt or $670-$690/nt) ex-mill. It's not likely, however, that the range will fall overall, unless early rumors of another scrap downtrend for May become more prevalent. But even taking scrap out of the equation, demand is weak enough right now that all the negotiating power is in the wire buyers' hands.
As for imports, traders tell SteelOrbis that Chinese wire rod prices are a "moving target." Chinese mills are reportedly trying to boost their offerings to the US in general, but traders have been able to set their own prices below the most common range. Therefore, while sales prices for Chinese wire rod in the US remain between $29.25-$30.25 cwt. ($645-$667/mt or $585-$605/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports--unchanged in the last week--there's a decent chance that some traders are offering at slightly less based on a fringe deal they happened to make. Turkish wire rod prices, meanwhile, are also steady in the range of $30.50-$31.50 cwt. ($672-$694/mt or $610-$630/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, as traders report more interest from Turkish mills in moving rebar than worrying about wire rod.