US domestic wire rod prices are still soft this week, and even though some sources speculate that US mills might announce an end-of-the-year price increase to “slow the bleeding,” few think such an increase will immediately absorb into the market.
Sources point to the still-tepid demand and an “obvious eagerness” of mills to book orders, adding that even a modest increase in US scrap prices this month won’t be enough to justify any sort of price uptick. At best, an announcement would be a signal to the market that prices are at or near bottom.
For now, US domestic wire rod prices are down another $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) since last week, bringing them into the range of $43.00-$44.00 cwt. ($948-$970/mt or $860-$880/nt) ex-mill.