On Wednesday, May 20, two batches of Turkish origin rebar, consisting of 5,000 mt each from two separate Turkish producers, were sold via the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) at $483/mt and $480/mt respectively, ex-stock Iranian southern ports for immediate delivery and payment in cash. The sellers' price started at about $460/mt but rose due to the competition among buyers caused by the rumors of a possible increase in the customs duty on imported steel. The final sales prices of the Turkish rebar in question was about $20-25/mt higher than the previous supply of Turkish rebar through the IME in the week before.
Chinese origin rebar also indicated a rising trend at the IME on May 20. Two batches of Chinese rebar produced by Tianjin Hopeton and China Shougang respectively were transacted at $487/mt and $492/mt for immediate delivery and cash payment. Just as for the abovementioned Turkish rebar, while the Chinese suppliers' price was initially at about $465/mt, it rose higher due to strong competition among buyers. The transaction price levels for Chinese origin rebar were about $20-30/mt higher compared to the previous supply through the IME in the previous week.
On May 20, local producer Esfahan Steel sold batches of rebar totaling about 5,000 mt via the IME at $495-550/mt for immediate delivery and payment in cash. Naturally, Esfahan Steel's prices also showed a certain increase, in the range of $10-15/mt, compared with their supply via the IME the week before.