After finding success pushing through a $2.25 cwt. ($45/nt or $50/mt) price increase in January, US domestic wire rod mills were optimistic about the prospects of another $2.25 cwt. price increase, set to take effect Feb. 1. However, resistance to that increase led to a second February price increase announced last week, for $1.00 cwt. ($20/nt or $22/mt), effective with new orders as of Feb. 9. Sources tell SteelOrbis that the pushback against the first February increase was due partly to the sideways trend in US domestic scrap prices this month, but another factor was the increasing difficulty of US wire rod buyers to pass along mill increases to downstream customers.
With the latest $1.00 cwt. price increase, US wire rod mills are reportedly hoping to “send a message” to buyers, and sources say mills have been “much firmer” in negotiations since the announcement last week. However, the overall spot price range for US wire rod has only inched up by $0.25 cwt. ($5/nt or $5.50/mt) in the last week, indicating a strong “push and pull” between mills and buyers.
US domestic wire rod spot prices are now in the range of $33.50-$34.00 cwt. ($670-$680/nt or $739-$750/mt) ex-mill.