Early predictions of another scrap price decrease in May have wiped out hopes for another US domestic wire rod increase next month, and beyond not pushing through the last price increase, wire rod mills are facing the increasingly likely prospect that wire rod prices will start to drop soon.
Demand for wire rod is still tepid, and even though imports are not in the picture enough to have an impact on the domestic market, US wire rod mills are still struggling to fill orders. As such, sources do not expect the current wire rod spot price range—at $46.00-$47.00 cwt. ($1,014-$1,036/mt or $920-$940/nt) ex-mill—to last long.