Rebar buying activity in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region has failed to recover lately. The start of Ramadan coinciding with hot weather conditions, combined also with mandatory midday breaks for workers coming into effect, have restricted construction activities and forced some contractors to suspend their projects. As a result, demand for longs and specifally, for rebar, has remained weak, to say the least. However, Omani mills have decided to increase their rebar offers, being chiefly encouraged by the ongoing bullishness in the global steel market.
Accordingly, one of the main Omani suppliers has increased its rebar offers to Emirati customers to $668/mt (AED 2,450/mt) CPT Dubai for 90-day LC payment. Some customers say that $651/mt (AED 2,390/mt) CPT is possible to get. Meanwhile, last month bookings for ex-Oman rebar in the UAE were concluded at $610-616/mt (AED 2,240-2,260/mt) CPT Dubai, market players report. “There are contractors in the UAE ready to book rebar at our last month’s price of AED 2,300/mt CPT, but we are already aiming to get AED 2,500/mt CPT,” the representative of another Omani mill stated. In the meantime, a third Omani rebar producer has decided to delay the announcement of fresh offers to the UAE, preferring to watch market developments closely.
In the domestic market in Oman, rebar prices have also trended upwards. According to sources, rebar prices domestically have been settled at $635-648/mt (OMR 245-250/mt) ex-works, versus $596-609/mt (OMR 230-235/mt) ex-works a month ago. Meanwhile, dealers are voicing their rebar offers at about $660-673 (OMR 255-260/mt) ex-warehouse, SteelOrbis has learned.
$1 = AED 3.67
$1= OMR 0.384