Turkish mills have raised their longs prices in line with the positive sentiment in the import scrap segment. In addition, there has been a certain surge of demand for exports, with the earlier reported deals to Asia and recent transactions to Latin America.
According to sources, this week around 13,000 mt of rebar have been traded from Turkey to Brazil at $630/mt FOB for May-June shipment. Another rebar sale has been rumored at $625/mt FOB, but the details have not been confirmed by the time of publication. Some market players have reported about sizable rebar lots sold to Yemen at up to $640/mt FOB. However, most sources agree that the price is not yet realistic and that $620-630/mt FOB is the highest possible workable price for this destination. Overall, the official Turkish rebar export offers have increased by $10/mt over the past week to $630-640/mt FOB for cargoes to be shipped in May and June.
While export business activity has been reviving slowly, domestic demand remains a problem for Turkish mills as sales are insufficient due to low end-user activity and the continuing currency fluctuations. Most mills in the Marmara and Izmir regions are currently offering rebar at $620-630/mt ex-works. However, sources report around 10,000 mt of rebar was traded locally at $600/mt ex-works earlier this week.
In the wire rod segment, a few Turkish mills are voicing $690-710/mt FOB for exports, up by $10/mt over the past week. In addition, this week a 4,000 mt wire rod lot has been traded to Brazil at $710/mt FOB for May-June shipment.