Demand starts to pick up in Turkish wire rod market

Wire rod prices in Turkey's domestic market were revised as of Tuesday afternoon due to fluctuations of the $/TRY exchange rate. Mesh making grade wire rod prices have reached $745-775/mt ex-works, excluding VAT.
 
In the southern Turkish region of Iskenderun, this week wire rod supply seems to be tight. The maintenance work scheduled to start by early June in the region has led buyers to start purchasing from other regions of the country. This change of flow has in general resulted in tight availability of certain wire rod sizes. Furthermore, the approach of the June 12 general election in Turkey also seems to have triggered a tight supply situation by causing a revival of construction activities.
 
Last week, we mentioned the possibility of a resumption of wire rod imports from southern Europe,  after the €/$ exchange rate touched levels of around 1.42. This week, the import price levels still do not appear attractive to buyers as Turkish mills are offering lower price levels for high carbon wire rod. For instance, Turkish mills are offering wire rod of grades above C65 at €600-620/mt ex works. Therefore, most local buyers of high carbon wire rod are focused on obtaining supplies from their domestic market.
 
At the OECD meeting held in Paris on May 12-13, all producers emphasized the decreasing crude steel production of Germany, which dropped by 1.7 percent year on year to 3.8 million mt in April. This is the first time the steel production of Germany has indicated a year-on-year drop since October 2009. It is thought that this drop in German steel production may also have a negative impact on its wire rod supplies.
 
Another European country, Romania, indicates weak demand for wire rod and offers from Ukraine for June are expected to be at €510-515/mt DAF Romania, as SteelOrbis hears.
 
This week, domestic wire rod price levels in Bulgaria stand at BGN 990-1,000/mt ($720-727/mt) excluding 20 percent VAT, on actual weight basis. However, demand is not at the desired levels yet.
 
Construction projects in the Central Asian Turkic republics have strengthened demand for final products such as nails, wire mesh, etc. Furthermore, West African and Central African buyers have replaced North Africans in terms of final product (welded wire mesh, nail) purchases. Iran and Iraq, in the meantime, have this week appeared quiet in terms of final product buying activity.