A week ago, the general consensus in the US wire rod market was that prices were definitely headed for an uptrend, although speculation was mixed on whether or not mills would announce a formal price increase. By early this week, however, major US domestic wire rod mills announced a steep $2.75 cwt. ($61/mt or $55/nt) price increase, far higher than recent price announcements for other long products.
The amount of the increase reportedly caught the market by surprise, as wire rod demand in the US is not nearly strong enough to support such vastly higher prices. The last US wire rod price increase announcement, in mid-May for $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt), was largely ignored by the market. Sources tell SteelOrbis that mills might eventually get up to $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) of the increase based on higher scrap prices this month, relatively tight supply, and low interest in imports, but the full $2.75 cwt. is reportedly “not realistic, to put it nicely.”
So far, US domestic wire rod prices are up about $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) this week, now ranging at $27.50-$29.00 cwt. ($606-$639/mt or $550-$580/nt) ex-mill.