Turkey’s long steel export prices have been trending down, still sluggish international demand and high transportation costs. Import scrap prices have been stable recently and both buyers and mills are waiting to see some movement on that side.
Turkish rebar offers have settled at $740/mt FOB from most of the mills, while a few suppliers are trying to maintain their rebar prices at $10/mt higher for late December-early January shipment. Last week, most offers were at $750-760/mt FOB. However, even this price reduction seems insufficient to convince international buyers to close new purchases. As a result, export trading activity has been slow recently. Sources report around 2,000-3,000 mt of rebar were traded to Ukraine at around $725/mt FOB at the end of last week. According to sources, a few rebar buyers in the US are delaying new purchases as they are waiting for clarification of the US-EU quota system.
In the Turkish domestic rebar market, the general rebar price range varies at $745-750/mt ex-works. Limited size availability is still an issue. Most mills are trying to maintain their dollar-based prices amid higher production costs and the fluctuating lira exchange rate.
In the wire rod export segment, a few Turkish mills have cut their offers to $840/mt FOB versus $850-870/mt FOB seen last week, for January shipment.