Following the decision by United Arab Emirates-based (UAE) steelmaker Emirates Steel Industries (ESI) to keep its domestic rebar prices stable for April output at AED 2,007/mt ($547/mt) ex-works, excluding five percent VAT last week, other steel mills in the UAE have followed suit and also kept their prices stable. Accordingly, in the current week it is observed that prices in the local UAE rebar market have remained unchanged.
With an average monthly volume of 260,000 mt, domestic rebar demand in the UAE is stable at normal levels for now but is expected to slow down in the coming period due to the approach of Ramadan. Currently, domestic rebar quotations in the UAE are mainly in the range of AED 1,970-2,040/mt ($537-556/mt) delivered to customer, though prices at AED 2,050/mt ($559/mt) have also been heard in a few deals for small tonnages.
On the other hand, market players in the UAE - similar to international players - are monitoring the market to see how Brazilian miner Vale’s production cuts will influence iron ore and other raw material prices. In addition to demand, the trend of iron ore and raw material quotations is also expected to influence domestic rebar prices in the UAE in the short term.
$1 = AED 3.67