Demand in the local United Arab Emirates (UAE) rebar market has been on the strong side for a while now. Meanwhile, UAE-based steelmaker Emirates Steel Industries (ESI) announced its new rebar prices last week. Accordingly, ESI increased its rebar prices by AED 90/mt to AED 2,340/mt ($638/mt) ex-works excluding five percent VAT, as compared to its previous price levels announced in December. The AED 90/mt rise in ESI’s rebar prices was higher than the initial expectations. Following this development, the ongoing upward movement seen in the local UAE rebar market has accelerated, with prices increasing by AED 30/mt on the lower end and by AED 40/mt on the upper end to AED 2,410-2,450/mt ($657-668/mt) delivered to customer, excluding five percent VAT. Market sources state that actual domestic rebar sales in the local UAE rebar market have mostly been concluded at price levels closer to the lower end and that the upper end of the price range has mostly been rejected by the market.
On the other hand, although Turkish mills’ rebar export prices at $565-575/mt FOB on actual weight basis have an advantage compared to domestic rebar prices in the UAE, UAE-based buyers have continued to prefer to purchase domestic rebar given Turkish mills’ longer delivery times and also due to the possibility of a change in Turkish rebar prices during the period of delivery.
$1 = AED 3.67