Low demand for Turkish long products, particularly in the rebar segment, in both domestic and export markets, has continued weighing on Turkish mills’ prices, despite the general belief that the prices for import scrap have largely hit the bottom. As a result, Turkish rebar producers have been forced to decrease their workable price levels in order to conclude some deals. The local market has revealed some interest in restocking, while export demand has remained rather occasional.
The official rebar export prices from Turkey have softened by $5/mt over the past week to $560-565/mt FOB for August shipments. However, more and more market players believe that $550-555/mt FOB bids for decent order volumes will not be turned down by producers. According to market information, there has been a 4,000-5,000 mt rebar sale to Brazil at $545/mt FOB, but it was denied by the supplier by the time of publication. Some market players believe that, although such levels do not seem impossible according to the current conditions, some mills will resist going far below $555-560/mt FOB particularly for buyers in Africa and the Mediterranean region. The main reason is the relative stabilization of rebar and wire rod prices from North African mills, at $560-575/mt FOB from Egypt and around $540-565/mt FOB from Algeria.
In the Turkish domestic rebar market, official rebar prices particularly from the mills in the Marmara region are at $570-580/mt ex-works, but buyers are seeking to book at $555/mt ex-works, mills say. At the same time, there have been up to 20,000 mt of rebar sales reported in the Izmir region at $545/mt ex-works, with a further offer price increase to $550/mt ex-works. In the Iskenderun region, mills’ rebar price indications are mainly at around $560-565/mt ex-works. Overall, domestic mills’ rebar prices have dropped by $25-35/mt over the past week considering the most recent workable levels.
The local wire rod prices in Turkey are now at $570-580/mt ex-works depending on the region and from most mills, which is around $10/mt below last week’s levels. In the export segment, the general wire rod prices are currently evaluated at $565-575/mt FOB, down from offers at $580/mt FOB seen last week.