Two different pictures have been observed in the Turkish domestic rebar market this week. First, rebar prices in the local market had softened to the price level of TRY 770/mt ex-warehouse including VAT in the early days of the week under the effect of the previous week's downward tendency. Second, on Thursday, November 27, price levels in the same market started to move up and reached the price level of TRY 900/mt ex-works including VAT. However, no sales have been heard at the price level in question. Having anticipated this upward movement in the domestic market, local traders bought in material from the market at the price level of TRY 780/mt including VAT. Subsequently, during this week they decided not to run too much risk and sold the material they had on hand at price levels of TRY 830-850/mt ex-warehouse including VAT.
The export price levels of the Turkish rebar producers have this week generally been at price levels of $400-450/mt FOB Turkey. However, the upper end of this price range (i.e. $450/mt FOB) has increased towards the end of the week under the influence of the upward price tendency seen in the domestic market. Turkish rebar producers have not been able to push down their price levels below $400/mt FOB Turkey as the scrap prices bought by the producers in recent weeks were at high levels. Meanwhile, rebar exports from Turkey's Iskenderun region to Iraq have this week continued to register very strong activity. Thus, a shortage of material has sometimes been observed this week in the Iskenderun region.
Turkish producers have this week offered rebar to the UAE at the price range of $430-450/mt CFR UAE on theoretical weight basis ($415-435/mt FOB on actual weight basis). However, these offers have not met with acceptance from local traders and end-users in the UAE, as the local traders have lost their confidence due to the global financial downturn and as end-users have cancelled most of their projects.
Local traders in the Turkish domestic market have been avoiding increases of their stock levels due to the approach of the religious holiday. In addition, considering the possibility of a decrease in end-user demand in the Turkish domestic rebar market (which has been registering up-and-down price movements in recent weeks in particular) due to the gradually worsening winter weather conditions, local traders are as far as possible abstaining from taking risks.