Silence prevails in Turkish merchant bar market

Silence prevails in the Turkish domestic merchant bar market as the anticipated demand revival has not materialized yet, although we have already moved into the fourth week of March.
 
In Turkey, the construction sector has not revived yet, disappointing expectations, with demand remaining significantly low. Towards the end of last week, a shortage of steel billet supplies caused merchant bar prices in Turkey's Karabuk region to see a slight revision. However, the general merchant bar price range has not changed. This week, domestic angle prices in the Turkish market stand at TRY 1,104-1,150/mt  ($707-736/mt) VAT ex-works.
 
As regards Turkey's merchant bar exports, Turkish mills' angle export offers have increased to $720-730/mt FOB for late April shipments from $715-725/mt FOB, due to the changes in the US dollar-Turkish lira exchange rate. In the meantime, Turkish merchant bar exporters are still facing limited demand in their export markets, due to the ongoing political turmoil in North Africa. Although inquiries coming from foreign markets are limited, the Iraqi and Syrian markets have stepped forward among Turkey's key merchant bar export markets due to the demand revival in these markets.
 
Generally speaking, in the Turkish merchant bar market demand is weak and the competition is tight. Although traders have low inventory levels, they are delaying their purchases for the time being as market activity is low. Buyers are only booking small tonnages for their spot material needs.
 
$1 = TRY 1.562