Steel producers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had revised their domestic rebar prices upwards last week, though the spot market did not follow suit, with buyers rejecting the new prices. Amid this development, market players started to expect discounts on UAE-based steel mills’ rebar quotations for April output.
The expected discounts have materialized during the past week. For example, Emirates Steel Industries (ESI) has started to offer discounts for its domestic rebar market, in effect reducing its rebar offer prices from AED 2,412/mt ($657/mt) ex-works to AED 2,340/mt ($638/mt) ex-works which is the price level ESI announced for March output, both excluding five percent VAT. Market sources state that UAE-based steel mills have been offering discounts based on their list prices without any official reduction made.
Meanwhile, UAE-based traders’ domestic rebar quotations have remained stable over the past two weeks, while domestic rebar prices in the UAE spot market are still at AED 2,350-2,390/mt ($640-651/mt) delivered to customer, excluding five percent VAT.