Business activity has been subdued in Lebanon over the past 10 days due to the unrest seen in the country. However, the situation is expected to improve shortly. In particular, according to local sources, ports in the country have restarted operations, though goods cannot be cleared by customs until the banks start working, which is expected to happen shortly. Overall, market players expect to see a clearer picture next week.
Turkish rebar prices have increased by around $10/mt during the past two weeks to $415-420/mt FOB or around $425-430/mt CFR Lebanon, and still seems to be still the most competitive in the market. The same FOB levels are seen for ex-CIS rebar, but the CFR price would be higher given the higher freight rates. Italian rebar export offers are at €380-390/mt ($424-435/mt) FOB, but are hardly competitive in Lebanon.
Sources believe that Lebanon might return to the international market with some fresh orders once cargoes at its ports are cleared. It is worth mentioning that the difficult currency situation in the country results in mainly cash payments being preferred, and so mainly small tonnages are expected to be booked.
€1 = $1.11