The export price of Chinese wire rod continued to rise sharply this week under the influence of demand and the exchange rate. Export prices reached a new high for the year, Kallanish notes.

A mill source tells Kallanish that wire rod export offers are now in the range of $540-545/t fob China. There were some offers at $535/t earlier this week, but these have been withdrawn. new offers are $15-20/t higher than last week. Another trader said there's very limited room for price negotiation.

Strong Chinese prices meanwhile forced buyers to wait and see how the market develops. Thus no large volume deal was concluded during the week. Buyers are waiting for the market to cool down, with only a few bids appearing at $525-530/t fob China. Market participants note these bids would have been workable for last week but are unlikely to secure deals this week.

On Thursday, 6.5mm diameter mesh-grade wire rod was assessed at $530/t fob China, up by $15/t from the previous assessment.