The increased scrap prices, followed by the billet uptrend and, coupled with the positive market expectation in the EU after the holidays, have created grounds for the bullish moods among North African longs exporters, especially in the wire rod segment. Aside from the EU, mills report there are inquiries from Lebanon.
Egypt is generally targeting to sell wire rod at $670-680/mt FOB for March shipments, while one of the producers recently sold certain volumes at $650/mt FOB on average, but the details are yet to be disclosed. Around two weeks ago, Egypt’s wire rod export prices were at $620-655/mt FOB. Egypt’s rebar prices are at around $650-670/mt FOB, sources report.
One of the Algerian mills is offering $690/mt FOB for SAE 1006 wire rod, though around 5,000 mt were traded not so long ago at close to $620/mt FOB to Turkey. The supplier’s rebar price is at $685/mt FOB at the moment. Another Algerian mill is not yet firmly in the market, but most probably will announce wire rod close to $700/mt FOB and around $680-690/mt FOB for rebar, buyers believe.
A Moroccan longs exporter is offering at $680-690/mt FOB for wire rod and $670-680/mt FOB for rebar, both for February-March shipments. The producer’s prices have increased by around $20-30/mt over the past three weeks.
