After US domestic wire rod mills announced a $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt) price increase late last week, sources tell SteelOrbis that while the increase amount will eventually absorb into the market, it won’t happen immediately. Despite steady demand, there is reportedly a “tremendous” backlog of orders and mills are in “no rush to jam through” higher prices at the moment.
Sources say the increase announcement—which comes on the heels of predictions for a US scrap price increase next month—was intended more to “set the tone” of the market, although higher prices are expected to be apparent in new orders within a few weeks.
For now, US domestic wire rod spot prices are unchanged in the range of $41.00-$42.00 cwt. ($904-$926/mt or $820-$840/nt) ex-mill, although sources point out that the lower end of the range might be “mostly unavailable” at this point.