In Turkey, import wire rod prices have indicated a significant downturn over the past week, particularly for ex-Asia origins. In fact, suppliers from China have remained the most aggressive and have dragged down the mood in the market. Some alternative sellers have followed suit, while some have decided to step back from the market and to wait for more favourable sales conditions.
This week, ex-China wire rod offers for June shipments have been reported in Turkey at $580-590/mt CFR, down from around $610/mt CFR since last Friday. At the same time, Malaysia is offering at $620-630/mt CFR this week, down by $20/mt over the same period. Both origins are for June shipments.
The latest indications from Egypt are at $670/mt CFR for June production, but two out of three mills have reported that they are not willing to negotiate and are expecting a more favourable market before restarting trade. “We prefer to wait a bit. Maybe after May 15 the situation will be better,” an Egyptian producer said.
Russian sellers, in the meantime, are offering at $615/mt CFR this week, down $5-10/mt over the past week. Some sources, however, report that for ex-Donbass material suppliers are offering levels $10-15/mt lower.
In the Turkish domestic market, mills’ prices have declined by $10/mt over the past week to $665-700/mt ex-works depending on the region. One of the reasons is the still weak sentiment in the import scrap market and the cautious buying ahead of the elections. Some local producers prefer not to quote any prices for now.