Export prices for Turkish long steel have gained strength since last week, pushed up by a sizeable uptrend in the import scrap segment.
By the end of the week, most rebar offers for March-April shipments were set at $430-440/mt FOB, having increased by $10-15/mt. Turkish mills are not eager to provide sizeable discounts, though earlier they had been more flexible. In particular, over 15,000 mt of rebar were sold earlier this week to Jamaica at around $435/mt CFR on theoretical basis, which is estimated at around $410-15/mt FOB. In the meantime, around 10,000 mt of once-folded rebar were sold this week to Ethiopia at $425/mt FOB to be shipped at the end of March. Inquiries have been coming from Yemen and Lebanon this week, with no deals reported.
Turkish mills are currently negotiating with rebar buyers from the US, discussing levels of $595-605/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis, duty paid. There were some talks with Asian buyers, but for now Turkey’s chances of selling are vague. Bids from Hong Kong are at $430-435/mt CFR or $400/mt FOB, which is not acceptable for the sellers. In the meantime, there have been deals from China to Hong Kong at $435-440/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned.
Wire rod export prices from Turkey have increased by $15/mt on average and offers are set at $455-470/mt FOB for March-April shipments. Approximately 10,000-11,000 mt wire rod have been sold to Iraq at around $465/mt ex-works for March delivery. Buyers from the European Union are cautious about purchases as the remaining quota for Turkish wire rod was only 4,460 mt as of February 12. However, 12,000-13,000 mt of wire rod have been sold to Bulgaria at $445-450/mt FOB for early April shipment.