Against the background of high import scrap prices and the delaying or slowing down of finished steel purchases by end-users, Turkish rebar producers are currently going through tough times and it is known that they have been experiencing difficulties with regard to concluding sales to the export markets. Northern African and Middle Eastern importers and stockists who are anxious to avoid entering the month of Ramadan with high stock levels have been refraining from purchases of large tonnages. The Turkish mills do not want to lower their current rebar export offers of $450-470/mt FOB - sales concluded below these levels would leave them in difficulty given the high cost of raw materials. However, it is difficult to talk about any significant demand for current export offers. Nevertheless, it is heard that there are offers given to some regions below the levels in question. For instance, it is heard that Turkish mills have this week offered rebar to the UAE at the level of $460/mt CFR UAE on theoretical weight basis.
Should the problems faced by Turkish mills in the domestic and export markets continue in the coming days, it is likely that they will contract their production significantly or halt their production operations altogether. In this event, with low stock levels in the domestic market, traders in particular will be seeking to purchase products, which could cause prices to increase in the local market.