Import offers for wire rod remain active in Turkey, but no specific deals have been reported. One reason is the weaker scrap price and the expectation of a production cost decline in Turkey after the discounts announced for electricity and natural gas prices for the industrial sector, effective from April 1. Another reason is the currently sufficient stock level in the country and the pressure from buyers for lower prices for import wire rod.
According to sources, ex-Malaysia wire rod offers for May shipments have been set at $705-709/mt CFR this week depending on the supplier, indicating a slight increase over the past week. Ex-Egypt wire rod offers for end-of-May and early June shipments are stable at $710-715/mt CFR for base grades and at up to $730/mt CFR for high carbon wire rod. The information regarding ex-Russia wire rod is somewhat contradictory. Some sources report they have received $650-660/mt CFR, which is more or less in line with last week’s levels. In the meantime, some sources stated that the workable levels for small lots of wire rod from the Black Sea/Azov Sea region are not higher than $620-630/mt CFR. “These [cargoes] might be from Donbass or it might be someone trying to sell distressed lots from previous contracts,” a trader told SteelOrbis.
In addition, rather aggressive offers are heard from China, at $655-665/mt CFR for regular grades and at $765-775/mt CFR for high carbon wire rod. The information has not been fully confirmed by the time of publication.
In the domestic market in Turkey, mills’ current prices are at $755-785/mt ex-works base depending on the producer and the region, which is $5-15/mt lower compared to the middle of last week. Today, March 30, integrated Turkish producer Kardemir announced its 5.5 mm SAE1008-1010 wire rod prices at $765/mt ex-works and 6-27 mm of the same steel grade at $750/mt ex-works, down $20/mt over the past month.