In the last week of Ramadan, merchant bar prices in the Turkish domestic market have been revised upwards as expected. Although Turkey's merchant bar export markets continue to remain sluggish, since the month of August is drawing to a close and these are the last days before the one-week-long holiday, traders who are anticipating that the construction industry will revive in September have started their merchant bar bookings in order to increase their inventory levels, resulting in increased demand.
This week, the exchange rate of the US dollar and Turkish lira has not shown much fluctuation, and so the price hikes are the result of the revival of demand. Last week, angle prices in the Turkish domestic market were standing in the range of TRY 1,346-1,380/mt + VAT ($765-784/mt) on actual weight basis. Coming to this week, prices have increased to TRY 1,368-1,420/mt + VAT ($784-807/mt) on actual weight basis.
Last week, ex-Turkey angle offers were at $775-785/mt FOB, on actual weight basis. This week, although the Middle Eastern and European markets are still quiet due to the summer holidays and Ramadan, in line with the increased activity and the price increases observed in the Turkish domestic market, export offers have been revised upwards, reaching $785-795/mt FOB, on actual weight basis and for shipments in late September and October. Despite the ongoing negative impact of the turbulence in the global economy on the transaction situation, market players state that they are expecting demand to improve towards the middle of September.