Turkish rebar producers have been forced to cut their export offers quite significantly over the past week. The development has largely been triggered by low international demand, the subdued trade with Asian countries due to the situation in the Chinese market, and also the uncertain trend in the import scrap segment. In addition, domestic demand in Turkey has been insufficient, with traders’ offers having decreased over the past week to rather critical levels.
As a result, rebar export prices from Turkey have dropped by $30-50/mt over the past week to $740-760/mt FOB for August shipments. Some mills are still offering at slightly higher levels. No actual deals have been reported for Turkish rebar exports this week since most buyers have been taking a wait-and-see stance.
In the local market, rebar pricing has been mixed depending on the sellers and their order books. Most mills prices in the Marmara and Izmir regions are offering rebar at $700-720/mt ex-works, verus $750-760/mt ex-works seen last week. Some producers are officially offering at $740/mt ex-works, but these offers are not considered either workable or widely available. According to sources, 5,000 mt of rebar have been traded today, June 2, at $690/mt ex-works in Izmir. Local traders' offers are also aggressive - offering at $699-707/mt ex-warehouse as of June 1. “These rebar prices contradict the billet price levels which are largely at $685-690/mt CFR and around $700/mt ex-works. So this is a negative factor for the billet suppliers,” a source told SteelOrbis.
In the wire rod export segment, a few mills are offering for August shipment at around $820/mt FOB, down $20/mt since the end of May, while slightly higher levels are also available. No fresh wire rod sales have been heard for now.