Turkish longs export market is again going through a silent period as the month of August is about to end, with only a few enquiries on the table from the Balkan region, specifically Bulgaria and Romania. However, demand in September is expected to be livelier as most European buyers will be back from the summer holiday. In addition, the local Turkish rebar market is also sluggish amid the ongoing depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar, with the exchange rate hitting $1 = TRY 41 this week.
Over the past week, the official Turkish rebar export offers have declined by $5/mt to $535-545/mt FOB for late September shipments, while a few mills are still testing $550/mt FOB, which seems a bit high under the current market conditions. Sources expect some fruitful negotiations with some of the Balkan-based buyers for the new EU import quota period.
In the Turkish domestic rebar market, official offers vary at $540-555/mt ex-works, slightly down over the past week. The upper end refers to the Marmara region and the lower one to the levels in the Izmir region. One of the Marmara region-based mills has closed its rebar sales until Monday, September 1, reflecting decent sales. The sources report the general workable rebar prices are at $535-550/mt ex-works, stable over the past week, though some tonnage is rumored to have been traded even at $530/mt ex-works in the Izmir region due to the ongoing currency fluctuations.
Moreover, Kardemir succeeded selling around 21,000 mt of rebar at $548/mt ex-works with its advantageous payments earlier today, August 27. Most local buyers are refraining from making new purchases in order to avoid VAT issues as the month ends.
An Iskenderun-based mill has issued its official rebar price on August 27 at around $550/mt ex-works for an extended delivery period, stable in US dollars over the past week. According to sources, the latest workable rebar price in this region stands at around $545/mt ex-works, also unchanged over the same period.
In the wire rod segment, both export and local prices have dropped by $5/mt on the lower end over the past week. As regards exports, material is available at $545-555/mt FOB for late September shipments. Locally, workable wire rod prices are currently at $540-560/mt ex-works.
