According to market sources, despite weak global demand Turkish steelmakers have been trying to keep their
rebar export offers at levels of $575-585/mt FOB since last week. Turkish producers do not have room to cut their
rebar export offers as import
scrap prices have not recorded any significant declines. Meanwhile, the ongoing conflict in
Iraq has hit the volume of Turkish
rebar sales to the country, while the latest Turkish
rebar deal to
Iraq was concluded for approximately 30,000 mt at $575/mt ex-works in late August from the Iskenderun region.
On the other hand, the demand recovery seen in the Egyptian market in previous weeks has disappeared by the current week. Egyptian buyers' asking prices are quite lower than current import offers, driving buyers to adopt a wait-and-see stance. In the meantime, political turbulence in
Yemen has hit interest in steel in the country, bringing demand for imported
rebar to a halt. On the bright side, demand for Turkish
rebar has increased in West Africa, where some ex-
Turkey rebar bookings have been concluded at $570-575/mt FOB.
Turkish steelmakers have had to find alternative ways to continue their finished steel production, as current
scrap prices are on the high side and as it is not known when Ukrainian producer
Metinvest will again start to supply
billet to the international markets. Having failed to achieve their asking prices for import
scrap offers, Turkish mills have started to evaluate attractive Chinese
billet offers to compensate for the negative conditions on the export side and to try to provide relief for their profit margins, which are pretty tight. These attractive
billet offers, which are being evaluated by Turkish mills, may impact ex-
Turkey rebar offers too, as sources report.