Most overseas buyers have not returned to the market yet and are still on holiday, and so demand for Turkish rebar in the export markets have been at low levels during the past week. It is observed that Turkish steel producers have reduced their rebar export offers in the current week by $5/mt to $448-475/mt FOB on theoretical weight basis due to the weak demand conditions. Although no new import scrap deal had been heard in Turkey for a long time, import scrap prices have not declined after the ex-Denmark scrap transaction heard today, January 6. Accordingly, given the lack of a decrease in their production costs, Turkish steel producers are not expected to reduce their rebar export offers in the short term.
After UAE-based steel producers' decision last week to increase their domestic rebar offers for January output, Turkish steel mills had started to offer rebar to the UAE at $460/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis, though no new rebar deal was heard in the week in question. This week, Turkish steel producers have reduced their rebar offers to the UAE by $5/mt week on week to $455-460/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis amid the downward pressure on domestic rebar prices in the region exerted by some Omani steelmakers who have given low-priced rebar offers to the UAE, and also due to the weakness of demand for Turkish rebar in the country. Market sources report that no new Turkish rebar transaction has been heard in the UAE this week, while it is believed that it would be fairly difficult for Turkish steel mills to reduce their rebar offers to this destination as their production costs have failed to decline.
Following the antidumping case launched by the Egyptian authorities in the last week of 2016 against rebar imports from China, Ukraine and Turkey, demand for Turkish rebar in Egypt has remained weak. As a result, Turkish steelmakers have not issued any new price strategy for Egypt. The most recent rebar sales from Turkey to Egypt were concluded in the middle of November at $450/mt FOB. After increasing their domestic rebar prices following the announcement of the antidumping case, Egyptian steel producers have kept their domestic rebar offers unchanged in the current week at EGP 1,100-1,300/mt ($558-569/mt) ex-works, including 13 percent VAT.
Demand for rebar in the US has remained at low levels as most market players have not returned from their year-end holidays yet. Meanwhile, Turkish rebar offers to the US have been in the range of $470-475/mt CFR this week.
$1 = EGP 18.09