International buyers’ demand for Turkish rebar remains weak

It has been another quiet week for Turkish rebar exports, with demand in Turkish rebar exporters' target markets remaining at low levels. Due to the weakness of demand, Turkish steel producers have reduced their export offers by $20/mt on the lower end to $420-480/mt FOB on actual weight basis.
 
Chinese billet and rebar export offers have declined sharply during the past week in line with the sharp declines recorded in iron ore quotations. As a result, Far Eastern buyers have once again focused on China for their purchases due to its favorable prices and delivery times, while market sources state that buyers' price inquiries for Turkish billet and rebar have come to a halt.
 
According to market sources, following US-based steel producers' announcement of a rescission of their rebar price increase last week which was initially planned to take effect at the beginning of April, domestic rebar quotations in the US have remained stable. Accordingly, Turkish steel mills' rebar offers to the US have moved sideways week on week in the range of $500-515/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis. On the other hand, US-based buyers' demand for Turkish rebar has failed to improve in the current week and no new Turkish rebar sale to the country has been heard.
 
Demand for Turkish rebar in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had come to a halt as of the middle of last week, while UAE-based buyers still prefer to purchase locally produced rebar due to the more favorable price levels in question. No new offer price for Turkish rebar has been heard in the region in the current week as demand remains weak. However, market sources believe that UAE-based buyers may again start making price inquiries for Turkish rebar since Turkish steel mills' rebar export quotations have declined over the past week. Additionally, UAE-based market sources state that Turkish rebar producers' offers to the UAE should be at a maximum price level of $430/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis so that they can conclude sales to this destination.
 
Following the decreases in Turkish mills' rebar export offers, Turkish rebar prices for Egypt have also moved down, softening by $10/mt week on week to $440/mt CFR on actual weight basis. With the influence of the ongoing antidumping (AD) investigation for Turkish rebar in Egypt and uncertainties regarding the outcome of the investigation, demand for Turkish rebar has remained slack in the country. Market sources report that Egyptian buyers' firm bids for Turkish rebar are currently at $420/mt CFR on actual weight basis. However, Turkish steelmakers cannot reduce their rebar offers to such levels due to their productions costs and so it is believed to be difficult for Turkish mills to conclude new sales to Egypt.
 
Turkish steelmakers' offers to markets such as Romania, Yemen, Lebanon and Africa, where they usually sell smaller tonnages, have decreased by $20/mt on the lower end and $15/mt on the upper end week on week to $420-435/mt FOB on actual weight basis. On the other hand, buyers in these regions mostly prefer to maintain a wait-and-see stance for now due to the apprehension in the global steel market caused by the sharp price decreases seen in the Chinese steel market.