This month, following Emsteel’s announcement to roll over its rebar offer levels for January, retail rebar prices in the UAE have nevertheless moved higher, supported by gradually improving demand conditions. Market participants indicated that buying activity strengthened over the past month and has remained firm, allowing retailers to raise their offer prices. According to industry sources, estimated monthly rebar consumption in the UAE is currently around 500,000-550,000 mt, broadly in line with recent months, pointing to a consistently strong demand environment. On the back of this outlook, the majority of market players remain optimistic, expecting the upward momentum in prices and demand to continue through the summer period.
“Demand continues to be strong, with consumption levels at around 500,000-550,000 mt per month. I expect this to continue at least until summer, although there could be a slight slowdown in February or March due to the Ramadan and Eid period,” a trader told SteelOrbis.
As a result, prices in the retail segment have moved higher over the past month. For Emsteel-origin rebar sold on 90-day LC terms, workable levels have been reported at AED 2,620-2,650/mt ($713-721/mt) ex-warehouse, compared with AED 2,600-2,620/mt ($707-713/mt) ex-warehouse previously. Prices for non-Emsteel material have followed a similar upward trend, now quoted at AED 2,490-2,520/mt ($678-686/mt) ex-warehouse, up from AED 2,480-2,500/mt ($675-680/mt) ex-warehouse in the prior period.
Following Emsteel’s announcement to roll over its prices for January, secondary domestic producers have chosen to follow the pricing direction set by the major producer and have therefore kept their offer levels unchanged. Arabian Gulf Steel Industries (AGSI) and Qatar Steel have continued to quote their rebar at $645/mt (AED 2,370/mt) ex-works and $642/mt (AED 2,360/mt) ex-works, respectively, in line with last month’s pricing.
In the import market, rebar offers have been reported from Saudi Arabia at around AED 2,313/mt ($630/mt) on 90-day LC terms. Previously, Saudi suppliers sold approximately 20,000 mt of rebar to the UAE at around AED 2,258/mt ($615/mt), though no fresh transactions have been heard since then. Omani suppliers, which remain active exporters to the UAE, are reportedly maintaining their offer levels from last month at AED 2,400-2,425/mt ($653-660/mt) on 90-day LC terms, according to market sources.
$1 = AED 3.67
$1 = OMR 0.3845
$1 = SAR 3.75
