Turkish mills are attempting to keep their longs offers stable due to the uncertain financial situation in the country and the situation in the import scrap segment. As a result, they have kept their official rebar prices stable, while offering sizeable discounts only to serious buyers. International demand is also silent due to the Chinese New Year holiday as buyers want to monitor post-holiday developments. In addition, the local rebar market is also silent amid adverse weather conditions like the recent flood in the southern region of Turkey and the unclear financial situation and limited credit availability in the country ahead of the local elections due to be held at the end of March.
Currently, most mills are still offering rebar at $610-620/mt FOB for late February-March shipments. Sources report a total of 25,000 mt of rebar was traded to Latin America at $600-605/mt FOB. Some said this was an old deal as the price is not feasible under the current market conditions, while some said it is a mixed deal to a few countries, including 7,000 mt of rebar to Jamaica and some tonnage to Panama, and that the mill was targeting an advantageous freight rate. However, the final details have not confirmed by the time of publication.
In the local Turkish rebar market, the official price range in the Marmara and Izmir regions has varied at $635-640/mt ex-works, including Icdas A.S. Sources report the workable rebar prices in these regions are at around $620-635/mt ex-works for serious buyers. Kardemir has issued its rebar price at $635/mt ex-works today and succeeded in selling around 10,000 mt of rebar up to the time of publication, SteelOrbis has heard.
In the wire rod segment, ex-Turkey offers have remained unchanged over the past week at $630-635/mt FOB for late February-March shipments. The latest wire rod deal was concluded last week to Romania at $625/mt for end-of-February shipment. In the local Turkish wire rod market, the general price levels still vary within $635-665/mt ex-works depending on the supplier, unchanged over the past week. However, the lower end seems workable amid the current sluggish demand.
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