Rebar prices are rising in Iran, following the trend seen in I-beam and other long products in the local market. 12-25 mm rebar sizes are already at a price level of $1,220-1,240/mt on ex-stock Tehran basis, up about $70/mt compared with last week. The rebar market in Iran had been stable during recent weeks with some stagnation even being observed, whereas global prices have been considerably higher than prices in the local Iranian market. The rising trend in Iran's rebar market commenced at the beginning of the current week, while the I-beam market had initiated a similar trend just a few days earlier. At present traders are looking forward to next week in anticipation of higher prices, and so most of them have closed their sales for the time being.
Iran's state-owned mills, which are usually criticized by players in the market for their low-priced sales, finally increased their prices - by about $20/mt - during their last formal sales on June 11, 2008. Esfahan Steel Co., which exclusively sells its products through the Tehran Mercantile Exchange, sold rebar at $1,165/mt ex-works with 40-day delivery on June 11. On the same day Azarbaijan Steel Co. sold rebar at $1,158/mt with 40-day delivery. Another state-owned mill, Iran National Steel Industrial Group, sold this same product through the Tehran Mercantile Exchange at $1,094/mt ex-works with a longer delivery period of 100 days.
Meanwhile, Iran's private-owned rolling mills, which have gained a considerable share of the market for themselves in recent years, also increased their prices when the new uptrend was seen in the market early in the current week; however, most of them have already closed their sales, but are expected to resume their sales whenever the market acquires stability. Nevertheless, in spite of the latest price increases, rebar prices in the local Iranian market are still far lower than in other neighboring countries where rebar is changing hands at $1,300-1,400/mt.