Turkey’s rebar exports continue to face weak demand

Turkish rebar exports have been facing difficulties amid low demand. Although the local Turkish rebar market is hoping to see some positive signs from the export side, no improvement in exports has been recorded yet. In addition, the ongoing uneasiness in the global economy has been affecting the export markets negatively, while steel mills' profit margins have been contracting further since decreases in raw material and production costs have been smaller compared to the decreases in rebar export offers.
 
As of this week, Turkish mills' rebar export offers are standing at $570-580/mt FOB, on actual weight basis, though aggressive offers at the level of $570-575/mt FOB are also available for high volume purchases for end of November shipments.
 
Although import iron ore prices and rebar export offers have indicated increases in China, these upward price movements have not influenced the Turkish and European markets yet. However, if the euro-dollar exchange rate, which has been moving down during the last two days, declines to the level of 1.25 or below, ex-European offers will again start to put pressure on Turkish export rebar offers.