Turkish mills have continued increasing their long steel export prices in line with the positive sentiment in the scrap segment. Demand has become livelier both in the local and export rebar markets, taking into account the upward expectations for the finished steel and raw material markets.
Ex-Turkey rebar offers are now set at $650-655/mt FOB for April shipment, versus $635-645/mt FOB seen earlier this week. A few mills have stopped quoting for rebar due to the rapid increase in import scrap prices. According to sources, around 8,000-10,000 mt of rebar were sold to Canada last week at $640/mt FOB, while a few players commented that this price seemed a bit high at the time. Furthermore, a fresh rebar deal has been closed this week to Jamaica for April shipment at $695-700/mt CFR, equal to $650-655/mt FOB, SteelOrbis estimates. Moreover, an 8,000 mt rebar lot is rumoured to have been sold to Singapore at $640/mt FOB Turkey as a top-up cargo to the previous order. In addition, 2,000 mt of rebar have been sold to Israel at $640/mt FOB for April shipment this week.
In the local market, around 10,000 mt of rebar were traded at $624/mt ex-works early this week. Sources report that around 60,000 mt of rebar were sold in the Izmir region at $624-626/mt ex-works yesterday. In the Marmara region, a 2,000 mt lot was sold at $640/mt ex-works, again yesterday. Most Turkish mills were offering rebar at $632-640/mt ex-works in the mentioned two regions, while spot prices were at $629-632/mt ex-warehouse.
In the wire rod segment, some Turkish mills are voicing export offers at $720-730/mt FOB, versus $710-725/mt FOB reported earlier this week. A few mills are offering higher levels for May shipments. A 10,000 mt wire rod lot has been sold to Libya at $730/mt CFR for April shipment this week,SteelOrbis has heard. Moreover, a 2,500 mt batch was traded to Israel at $710/mt FOB for April shipment earlier this week.