Wire rod buyers in Turkey continue to consider purchases of imports along with domestic purchases and naturally prefer duty-free origins. The prices from most suppliers have decreased over the past two weeks due to the negative import scrap sentiment, the slow local market, and currency issues.
According to sources, ex-Malaysia wire rod prices are mainly at $570/mt CFR for August shipments, versus around $595/mt CFR two weeks ago. Some buyers assume they can obtain a $5/mt discount. Wire rod from Egypt, which is another duty-free origin, is currently available at $590/mt CFR, while some believe $580-585/mt CFR levels may be on the table shortly. Prior to the holiday, Egyptian sellers were trying to increase prices to $610-615/mt CFR, but the market turned out to be non-supportive.
As for other origins, which are subject to an import tax in Turkey, their price levels are not so attractive. In fact, the indicative offer levels from Algeria are at around $615-620/mt CFR, while Indonesian offers are estimated at around $565-570/mt CFR.
In the Turkish domestic market, most offers for wire rod are concentrated within the range of $615-640/mt ex-works, while one supplier is officially offering at $670/mt ex-works.