Emirati rebar mills, having recently increased their domestic prices significantly, thereby also encouraged Omani rebar suppliers to follow suit. Consequently, Omani sellers raised their offers both to their domestic market and to the Emirati market. However, the negative mood in the global steel market, which primarily emerged following a sharp drop in scrap prices in Turkey, has caused market insiders to have doubts regarding the sustainability of higher ex-Oman rebar prices.
Accordingly, one of the main Omani suppliers has increased its rebar offers to Emirati customers to $746/mt (AED 2,740/mt) CPT Dubai for 90-day LC payment, compared to offers at $650/mt (AED 2,388/mt) last month. In the meantime, a few Emirati traders have reported bookings of small volumes done at $680-695/mt (AED 2,495-2,550) CPT, though this information has been denied.
In the meantime, rebar prices domestically have been settled at $661-680 (OMR 255-262/mt) CPT, up $78-84/mt (OMR 30-32/mt) from last month. Overall, trading is reported to be limited now. “Dealers are a bit cautious since they feel prices may fall by March as Ramadan is starting in April,” a representative of an Omani mill commented.