As the Christmas and New Year holidays are approaching, activity has been slowing down in the longs market in the Mediterranean region, including supply from North Africa. Some producers, mainly in Egypt, have fairly full order books, while some suppliers from Algeria, according to buyers, may be providing some discounts in order to attract some inquiries before the holiday season. Higher scrap prices in Turkey may support North African longs export pricing for January shipment, while for Turkish mills themselves the uptrend of scrap prices will mean higher production costs and weaker competitiveness in overseas destinations.
The largest longs producer in Egypt claims it is already sold out for exports for December shipment and is going to start trading for January next week. Its latest export prices were at $555-560/mt FOB for rebar and $560-570/mt FOB for wire rod, down slightly over the past two weeks.
Ex-Algeria export offers for longs still vary depending on the supplier. One of the mills, that recently had technical issues with steel production, has been offering, according to sources, at $535-545/mt FOB for wire rod and $10/mt higher for rebar, both for December shipment. Another Algerian producer, according to sources, has been offering both rebar and wire rod for export for December-January shipment at $570/mt FOB, with slight discounts applicable.
A Libyan steel producer has also been trying to trade some rebar to neighboring countries. Offers to Egypt have been reported at $550/mt CFR and to Lebanon at $565-570/mt CFR, both equaling around $520/mt FOB, SteelOrbis understands.
In addition, Russia’s offers have been heard to the Middle East, namely Egypt and Israel, at $600-615/mt CFR, down by $10-20/mt over the past fortnight, with no sizeable deals reported lately.
Turkish longs producers have been aiming to increase their rebar export prices despite low demand and competition with North Africa, and many have been offering rebar at $570-575/mt FOB, up $5/mt on the lower end. Still, the latest small deals have been reported at $555-560/mt FOB. Turkish wire rod export prices have been pulled up by $5/mt to $575-585/mt FOB and are now higher than most offer for prime material from North Africa.
