Declining raw material costs, weakening demand from the automotive end market and competitively priced imported material have driven down prices for cold-heading quality (CHQ) and high-carbon wire rod in the United States.
Fastmarkets AMM's monthly pricing assessment for cold-heading quality wire rod dropped to $41.50 per hundredweight ($830 per short ton) North American delivered duty paid Great Lakes region on Friday June 21, down by 4.6% from $43.50 per cwt ($870 per ton) on May 17 and its lowest since late May 2018. The pricing assessment for high-carbon wire rod slipped to $37.50 per cwt ($750 per ton)...