Most Turkish wire rod buyers are exerting pressure for further discounts from Turkish mills, given the discounts provided in the import wire rod segment. In particular, lower offers have been reported from Malaysia, Russia and the occupied part of Ukraine. Traders are mostly seeking to sell the material, taking into account the short delivery times.
Currently, ex-Malaysia wire rod offers are standing at $655-660/mt CFR Turkey, versus $680/mt CFR earlier this month. In addition, ex-Russia wire rod prices are available at $630/mt CFR northern Turkish ports from traders, stable over the past week. However, one of the Russian mills, according to sources, has dropped its offers by around $20-30/mt over the past week to $640-650/mt CFR for February shipments.
Last week, suppliers of ex-Donbass wire rod traded a total of around 15,000 mt for prompt shipments. “They sold low and it closed the doors on Russian material since no one is going to pay above $620/mt CFR now,” a trader told SteelOrbis, adding that the average monthly import volume of wire rod in Turkey is around 30,000 mt. Local Turkish official wire rod prices vary at $710-740/mt ex-works, though additional discounts are applicable for serious buyers, SteelOrbis has heard. Most local wire rod buyers are in wait-and-see mode regarding new purchases and are monitoring the import scrap price trend.