Last week, Turkish steel mills’ rebar export prices were in the range of $540-560/mt FOB on actual weight basis, with the lower end of $540/mt only available for large tonnages. In the current week, offer levels at $540/mt FOB are no longer available, while Turkish mills’ rebar offers to the export markets have increased by $10/mt on the lower end week on week to $550-560/mt FOB on actual weight basis.
The sharp upward movement of import scrap prices in Turkey which had been seen for some time has given way to a sideways movement as of the beginning of the current week, while trading activity in the local Turkish rebar market has mostly remained quiet during the past week. Under these circumstances, Turkish mills have refrained from raising their rebar export prices above the $560/mt FOB mark.
Meanwhile, due to the approaching Christmas and end-of-year holidays, demand for Turkish rebar in the international markets has remained at low levels as buyers have postponed their purchases.
In Turkey’s traditional export markets, such as Egypt, the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) demand for Turkish rebar has remained weak.