Although some traders said last week that a "movement was afoot" to reverse the price trend for Chinese wire rod offers to the US, it appears that any attempts by Chinese mills to lift offers have been rejected, and lower prices are still being heard in the market. Chinese offer prices fell another slight $0.25 cwt. ($5.50/mt or $5/nt) in the last week, bringing the range down to $28.00-$29.00 cwt. ($617-$639/mt or $560-$580/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Although interest in Chinese wire rod is still relatively stable in the US, order activity is apparently not strong enough for Chinese mills, according to sources, so they are remaining flexible with prices. As for Turkish wire rod offers, lack of interest in the market has kept the offer price range at $30.00-$31.00 cwt. ($661-$683/mt or $600-$620/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports--unchanged in the last week despite rumors of an increase in response to uptrending scrap prices.
The US domestic wire rod market is also seeing continuing weakness, with some sources confirming orders booked as low as $32.00 cwt. ($705/mt or $640/nt) ex-mill. Most spot prices are still in the range of $33.00-$34.00 cwt. ($728-$750/mt or $660-$680/nt) ex-mill, however, although the sagging low end is an indicator of how bad demand is, even with predictions of a scrap uptrend on the horizon.