Turkey’s import wire rod segment remains rather active and new deals may be closed shortly, given the decline in offers which has resulted from the overall negative market sentiment and suppliers’ need to sell. Traditionally, Malaysia and Egypt are preferred, being duty-free origins, while Russia has to offer around $50/mt lower than these two sources in order to receive some feedback from buyers.
Several buyers in Turkey have been reporting offers at slightly below $700/mt CFR. “There may be no point in offering to Turkey the low levels available for the EU, since the local prices in Turkey are quite high and one can get a deal in line with Egypt,” a Turkish producer said. According to sources, the latest ex-Egypt May production offers are at $710-715/mt CFR ($690-705/mt FOB), while the previous deals for April-May shipments from the same source were closed at levels $10-15/mt lower.
Along with wire rod of “clean” origins, there are offers for Russian material for April-May shipments. According to several sources, a level of $650/mt CFR is considered relatively workable in this case, provided Malaysian suppliers do not become even more aggressive.
There are some rumors for possible wire rod imports from Brazil, but no solid feedback or confirmation of the information has been received. Sources agree that buying wire rods from Brazil may be risky due to the long lead time.
Turkish mills’ official domestic wire rod prices vary at $770-790/mt ex-works. Sources report $10-20/mt in Turkey may generally be available as a discount for serious buyers.