According to market sources, Turkish producers' offers for mesh quality
wire rod to the export markets have declined by $10-15/mt over the past two weeks to $555-565/mt FOB, while producers' offers vary depending on tonnages.
Turkish
wire rod offers to the US have decreased by $10/mt since last week to $580-590/mt CFR FO US Gulf ports. Recently, demand for Turkish
wire rod has been weak in the US market which lately has been the most important export market for Turkish
wire rod producers. Market sources state that buyers in the US are continuing to seek further discounts from Turkish producers before they restart their purchasing activities.
Meanwhile, demand is very weak in the Middle East, another important export market for
Turkey, and it is still hard for Turkish producers to compete with Chinese
wire rod offers in this region.
On the other hand, recently
Turkey increased its import duty on boron-added
wire rod to 40 percent compared to the three percent announced on December 31 last year. This has created expectations for a revival in Turkish producers' domestic sales, while market players believe some Turkish producers may focus on the local Turkish market instead of on exports if demand continues to be weak in foreign markets.