Dalbeler: Weaker euro not to provide much opportunity for EU rebar exporters

International Rebar Producers and Exporters Association (IREPAS) president and Colakoglu Metalurji CEO Ugur Dalbeler has said that rebar inventories in Europe are fairly low amid the ongoing sluggishness of demand and the continuing economic problems in the region, besides which the scrap yards of European rebar producers are almost empty. As Mr. Dalbeler told SteelOrbis, despite the increasing attractiveness of ex-Europe rebar offers due to the weakening of the euro against the US dollar, European rebar suppliers are unable to supply large volume orders at the moment. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the trend of the euro in the days to come, European rebar producers are not comfortable either about deciding to conclude new scrap bookings, Dalbeler added.
 
As SteelOrbis previously reported, ex-Europe rebar offers are currently standing at €500/mt ($635/mt) FOB, while Turkish rebar export offers are at about $645-650/mt FOB. "In fact, European rebar suppliers should adjust their rebar prices upwards in normal conditions to keep them unchanged on dollar basis, in order to maximize their profit. But I do not think that they will in the current context," Mr. Dalbeler commented.
 
Stating that European rebar suppliers are mostly selling rebar to Algeria and partly to Israel, the IREPAS president told SteelOrbis that these suppliers have not been indicating much presence in other markets such as North and South America or the Far East for quite a long while now, while he added that he does not expect this situation to change in the coming period. Thus, Dalbeler concluded that Turkish rebar suppliers are unlikely to lose market share to their European counterparts, adding that the only disadvantage which arises from the weakness of the euro for Turkish rebar suppliers is not to be able to sell material to Europe.