Middle East increases inquiries for larger volume rebar orders

The challenges in the global economy with the uncertainty in Europe coupled with sluggishness during Ramadan has resulted in fairly reduced rebar purchases in the Middle East and North Africa. However, approaching the end of Ramadan, buyers from the UAE and Qatar have increased their inquiries to Turkish mills for large volume orders.
 
Early this week, an ex-Turkey rebar transaction to the UAE was concluded at $620-625/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis. Currently, Turkish rebar offers to the UAE are standing at $620-630/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis, while Chinese offers are at $590/mt CFR.
 
Although Chinese rebar offers are significantly lower as compared to Turkish offers, buyers in the UAE are not opting to buy Chinese material. Unless this price gap widens even more dramatically, UAE buyers will not change their preferences.