Turkish mills have this week been offering rebars for export to destinations other than the US and Persian Gulf markets at $1,200-1,260/mt FOB on actual weight basis for August shipments. The Turkish producers selling to the UAE have been offering at $1,200/mt FOB, while the Turkish producers selling to destinations other than the UAE have been offering at up to $1,260/mt FOB. It seems that currently the most active market is the UAE. Meanwhile, it is heard that sales have been concluded to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The local producer in the UAE domestic rebar market has this week announced the price level of AED 4,890/mt ($1,391/mt) ex-works on a theoretical weight basis. It seems that the uptrend in the import billet and rebar prices has led the local steelmakers to sharply raise their own prices. On the other hand, the latest deals concluded from Turkey were in a range of $1,280-1,300/mt CFR on a theoretical weight basis for August shipment. The Turkish producers have been giving signals that they will increase their prices further. Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabian and Qatari producers, which sometimes export to the UAE region, are not interested in exports right now due to the strong demand levels in their local markets.
The rebar prices in Saudi Arabia have increased by a further SAR 200/mt this week. The price level of 8-12 mm rebar is at SAR 4,775-5,205/mt ($1,273-1,388/mt) delivered to customer, including five percent VAT, on a theoretical weight basis. The demand level in this country is pretty good, and it is even heard that some import deals from Turkey have been concluded this week. In addition, it is observed that there is still space for imports in this market.
The activity registered in the Gulf region even though it is still early summer has been causing prices to move up steadily. This activity in the Middle East has been affecting not only this region (Middle East) but also the European continent, North Africa and even the CIS. The continuous upward movement of the CIS billet prices is closely linked to the demand coming from the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. On the other hand, the main reason which has pushed the European rebar price level past the €800/mt mark, in spite of the low domestic demand levels, is the momentum provided by the Middle East and the Persian Gulf markets for international prices.