After US domestic wire rod mills announced a $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) price increase last week, spot prices have remained stable at high levels, but some sources are speculating that wire rod prices may have peaked.
Though demand is still relatively strong and import competition is “virtually nonexistent,” early predictions are pointing to a slight scrap downtrend next month, and following this month’s sideways trend, sources say mills won’t have a strong enough reason to continue pushing wire rod prices upward. One source said mills might be able to maintain current price levels despite a drop in scrap, but predictions on future wire rod prices are not pointing upward.
This week, US domestic wire rod spot prices are unchanged in the range of $52.00-$53.00 cwt. ($1,146-$1,168/mt or $1,040-$1,060/nt) ex-mill.