Turkish rebar producers' export offers have decreased again this week by $5-10/mt, declining to $660-665/mt FOB on actual weight basis, for February shipments, following the price softening seen early last week, which had brought offers to $665-675/mt FOB. In the meantime, SteelOrbis has learned that some Turkish mills have concluded some transactions at $655/mt FOB.
The recent weakening of the euro against the US dollar had provided a chance for European rebar mills to place more competitive export offers and, as SteelOrbis has previously reported, some rebar transactions had been concluded from Europe to the Middle East at €510/mt FOB. After these transactions, Turkish mills softened their rebar offers for the Egyptian market, but these reduced offers have failed to attract local buyers. In the meantime, Turkish buyers have also moved down their rebar offers to the Yemeni market, though no new transaction has been concluded so far.
Despite these price declines, no improvement in demand has been observed either in the Turkish domestic market or in Turkish mills' export markets, and buyers are maintaining their reluctant approach as regards concluding new bookings, trying to avoid risks amid very volatile market conditions. In addition, the debt crisis in the euro zone and financial uncertainty have forced buyers to adopt a wait-and-see stance.