On the heels of higher scrap pricing for May, Gerdau Long Steel North America and Nucor have independently raised US wire rod prices for June.
In a letter sent to customers Monday, Gerdau said it would be increasing the transactional prices of wire rod products by $40/st, effective June 1.
Nucor followed Tuesday, announcing a $20/st increase on low carbon rod and a $30/st increase on high carbon, effective with June 1 shipments.
US wire rod pricing has been steady since mid-April, but buyers had been anticipating an increase after the close of mill's May buy week for scrap.
"I believe the mills will pass through the scrap increase with little or no resistance," said a buy-side source.
Imported wire rod offers also have been up on higher scrap costs, giving domestic mills some additional breathing room to raise prices, according to a US wire drawer.
"For now, the advantage of imports is nonexistent, and the association with long lead times make them even less appealing," he said.
US wire rod prices jumped $50/st in mid-April following a $20/st increase in March.
Despite the gains in recent months, there is some underlying fear that because the increases are mostly supply driven, higher pricing may not hold for long, the wire drawer said.
In its latest assessment, May 6, Platts maintained its weekly US assessment for mesh-quality wire rod at $500-$530/st.
