Stagnant Iranian rebar market expects to pick up after Ramadan

Iran's domestic rebar market remains in a state of deep stagnation, even though there has been some movement in the local Iranian market for other finished products in recent weeks. For several weeks now, there has not been any significant change in the Iranian rebar market in spite of the fact that rebar prices in Iran are usually very sensitive to both local and global developments.
 
12-25 mm rebar is currently changing hands in the local Iranian market at $535-550/mt ex-stock Tehran - a price range which has been unchanged for several weeks. Rebar prices in the Iranian market had reached a peak level of $570-600/mt ex-stock Tehran in July up to the middle of that month; however, prices have since decreased to the current price range given above.
 
On September 9, state-owned rolling mill Azarbaijan Steel sold a batch of 14-25 mm rebar via the Iran Mercantile Exchange at $522/mt ex-works with two-week delivery. On August 30, in its last supply of rebar through the IME, local steelmaker Esfahan Steel sold some batches of A3 grade 12-28 mm material at $572/mt ex-works with 83-day delivery. 
 
The strong stagnation in construction activity in Iran, both in the public and private sectors, means that local demand for rebar is currently very poor. However, most local traders in Iran are optimistic regarding the prospects for some recovery in rebar prices in the near future on the back of both local and international developments. President Ahmadinejad's second cabinet has recently been approved by the Iranian parliament and so there is hope that government projects will resumed in the near future when the new ministers commence their work. On the other hand, Ramadan, which is usually a month of stagnation in Muslim countries, will come to an end over a week later, and most local Iranian traders are preparing themselves for a booming market in the post-Ramadan period.