Longs producers in North Africa, namely Algeria and Egypt, have increased their export prices this week. One reason is the uptrend in Turkey, triggered by the earthquake-related expectations and the sharp import scrap price rise. Moreover, the market sentiment is rather firm for the coming weeks, and so buyers may opt to accept higher prices from North Africa, while Turkey is mainly out of the market due to its unworkable export prices, which are kept in line with its rising domestic prices.
Another reason is the decent domestic demand for rebar and wire rod in North African countries. “There has been good demand since three months and a lot of projects have resumed. Local prices are 20 percent higher than the export prices and the sales are for 100 percent prepayment,” an Algerian mill told SteelOrbis. A similar situation, according to sources, is seen in Egypt, where the main producer is officially offering rebar and wire rod at EGP 26,985/mt ($775/mt) ex-works. In both markets, the pre-Ramadan demand in the domestic market is also a factor for better domestic sales.
As regards exports, Algerian Qatari Steel is offering at $749/mt FOB for May production wire rod, up from $690/mt FOB voiced last week. The supplier’s wire rods are at $729/mt FOB. Another local producer, Tosyali Algerie, is reportedly not offering to the export market these days.
In Egypt, Ezz Steel is offering both rebar and wire rods at $700/mt FOB for May shipments, up from the official level of $680/mt FOB last week. According to sources, some sales have been achieved at the new levels, though some bids have been reported at $690/mt FOB. Egypt’s El Marakby is voicing $720/mt FOB for rebar and $730/mt FOB for wire rod, up $10/mt since earlier this week. Suez Steel, another large exporter in Egypt, is currently testing $700-710/mt FOB levels for rebar and wire rod, SteelOrbis has learned. It is worth mentioning that around two weeks back Egypt was selling longs within $645-660/mt FOB.
As for Tunisia, export offers are evaluated at $740-750/mt FOB for wire rod versus $700/mt FOB bids, while in the domestic market the indication for the same product is at $760/mt ex-works.
