Few deals were concluded for Asian wire rods in the third week of May 17. Offers from major exporting mills in China were around $590- $600/mt FOB China. A deal was heard concluded this week at $590/mt FOB China for high-carbon wire rods. Low-carbon wire rods were heard sold at $590/mt FOB China.

           Indonesian wire rods were heard offered at $540/mt FOB Indonesia, $20/mt down from last week. Indonesian wire rods were also heard offered at $565/mt CFR Korea.

          “We barely saw any firm bids in the past week with only a few inquiries from South America and South Korea,” said a Chinabased mill source, adding that it is more profitable for mills to sell HRC and plates rather than rebars and wire rods.

          The Chinese most active October rebar futures closed at Yuan 3,712/mt ($533/mt) on May 17, up Yuan 24 week on week.

           Platts assessed SAE1008 6.5 mm diameter mesh-quality rod down $7/mt on the week at $570/mt FOB China May 17.

           Meanwhile, domestic prices in Shanghai’s retail market for Q195 6.5 mm wire rod was down Yuan 50 week on week at Yuan 3,700/ mt ex-stock, including 13% value added tax.

           An eastern China trader said construction wire rods perform better than industrial ones, crediting it to infrastructure demand.